David’s Wives Are Captured

30 Now when David and his men came to ^uZiklag on the third day, ^vthe Amalekites had ^wmade a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all¹ who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David’s ^xtwo wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke ^yof stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,² each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

7 ^zAnd David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 ^aAnd David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this ^bband? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake ^cand shall surely rescue.” 9 So David set out, and ^dthe six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. ^eTwo hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, ^fhis spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. 14 ^gWe had made a raid against the Negeb of ^hthe Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this ⁱband.”

David Defeats the Amalekites

16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. 18 ^jDavid recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. ^jDavid brought back all. 20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him,³ and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

21 Then David came to ^kthe two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left ^kat the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.” 23 But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 Who would listen to you in this matter? ^lFor as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” 25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.” 27 It was for those in ^mBethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in ⁿJattir, 28 in ^oAroer, in Siphmoth, in ^pEshtemoa, 29 in Racal, in the cities of ^qthe Jerahmeelites, in the cities of ^rthe Kenites, 30 in ^sHormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, 31 in ^tHebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.

The Death of Saul

31 ^uNow the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain ^von Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down ^wJonathan and ^xAbinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 ^yThe battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 ^zThen Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these ^auncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, ^bfor he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword ^cand fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, ^dto carry the good news ^eto the house of their idols and to the people. 10 ^fThey put his armor in the temple of ^gAshtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of ^hBeth-shan. 11 ⁱBut when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 ^jall the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh ^kand burned them there. 13 And they took their bones ^land buried them under ^mthe tamarisk tree in Jabesh and ⁿfasted seven days.

2 Samuel

David Hears of Saul’s Death

1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned ^afrom striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 2 And on the third day, behold, ^ba man came from Saul’s camp, ^cwith his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, ^dhe fell to the ground and paid homage. 3 David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 And David said to him, ^e“How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” 5 Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6 And the young man who told him said, ^f“By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 And he said to me, ^g‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ 10 So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. ^hAnd I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

11 Then David took hold of his clothes and ⁱtore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept ^jand fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” 14 David said to him, “How is it you were not ^kafraid to put out your hand to destroy ^lthe Lord’s anointed?” 15 Then ^mDavid called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. 16 And David said to him, ⁿ“Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed ^othe Lord’s anointed.’”

David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan

17 And David ^plamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he said it¹ should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in ^qthe Book of Jashar.² He said:

David Anointed King of Judah

2 After this David ^einquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To ^fHebron.” 2 So David went up there, and ^ghis two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 And David brought up ^hhis men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. 4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David ⁱking over the house of Judah.

When they told David, ^j“It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” 5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, ^k“May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. 6 Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. 7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and ⁱthe house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel

8 But ^lAbner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to ^mMahanaim, 9 and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel. 10 Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 11 ⁿAnd the time that David was king in Hebron over ⁱthe house of Judah was seven years and six months.

The Battle of Gibeon

12 Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at ^othe pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” 15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim,¹ which is at Gibeon. 17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

18 And the ^pthree sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was ^qas swift of foot as a wild gazelle. 19 And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. 20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” 21 Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. 22 And Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?” 23 But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him ^rin the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?” 27 And Joab said, “As God lives, if ^syou had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.” 28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.

29 And Abner and his men went all that night through ^tthe Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to ^uMahanaim. 30 Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David’s servants nineteen men besides Asahel. 31 But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner’s men. 32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.

Abner Joins David

3 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

2 ^vAnd sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of ^wAhinoam of Jezreel; 3 and his second, Chileab, of ^wAbigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah ^xthe daughter of Talmai king of ^yGeshur; 4 and the fourth, ^zAdonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

6 While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a concubine whose name was ^aRizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, ^b“Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” 8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “Am I ^ca dog’s head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. 9 ^dGod do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David ^ewhat the Lord has sworn to him, 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, ^ffrom Dan to Beersheba.” 11 And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

12 And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf,¹ saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you.” 13 And he said, “Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, ^gyou shall not see my face unless you first bring ^hMichal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, ⁱfor whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to ^jBahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned.

17 And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. 18 Now then bring it about, ^kfor the Lord has promised David, saying, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.’” 19 Abner also spoke to ^lBenjamin. And then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin thought good to do.

20 When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 And Abner said to David, “I will arise and go and ^mwill gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may ⁿreign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

22 Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace.” 24 Then Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone? 25 You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to know ^oyour going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.”