Dual Panel1After this, David asked the LORD, "Should I move back to Judah?" And the LORD replied, "Yes." Then David asked, "Which town should I go to?" And the LORD replied, "Hebron."
2David’s wives were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. So David and his wives
3and his men and their families all moved to Judah, and they settled near the town of Hebron.
4Then Judah’s leaders came to David and crowned him king over the tribe of Judah. When David heard that the men of Jabesh–gilead had buried Saul,
5he sent them this message: "May the LORD bless you for being so loyal to your king and giving him a decent burial.
6May the LORD be loyal to you in return and reward you with his unfailing love! And I, too, will reward you for what you have done.
7And now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king."
8But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul’s son Ishbosheth.
9There he proclaimed Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashurites, and all the rest of Israel.
10Ishbosheth was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the tribe of Judah remained loyal to David.
11David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years.
12One day Abner led some of Ishbosheth’s troops from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13About the same time, Joab son of Zeruiah led David’s troops from Hebron, and they met Abner at the pool of Gibeon. The two groups sat down there, facing each other from opposite sides of the pool.
14Then Abner suggested to Joab, "Let’s have a few of our warriors put on an exhibition of hand–to–hand combat." "All right," Joab agreed.
15So twelve men were chosen from each side to fight against each other.
16Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other’s side so that all of them died. The place has been known ever since as the Field of Swords.
17The two armies then began to fight each other, and by the end of the day Abner and the men of Israel had been defeated by the forces of David.
18Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, the three sons of Zeruiah, were among David’s forces that day. Asahel could run like a deer,
19and he began chasing Abner. He was relentless and single–minded in his pursuit.
20When Abner looked back and saw him coming, he called out, "Is that you, Asahel?" "Yes, it is," he replied.
21"Go fight someone else!" Abner warned. "Take on one of the younger men and strip him of his weapons." But Asahel refused and kept right on chasing Abner.
22Again Abner shouted to him, "Get away from here! I will never be able to face your brother Joab if I have to kill you!"
23But Asahel would not give up, so Abner thrust the butt end of his spear through Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He stumbled to the ground and died there. And everyone who came by that spot stopped and stood still when they saw Asahel lying there.
24When Joab and Abishai found out what had happened, they set out after Abner. The sun was just going down as they arrived at the hill of Ammah near Giah, along the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.
25Abner’s troops from the tribe of Benjamin regrouped there at the top of the hill to take a stand.
26Abner shouted down to Joab, "Must we always solve our differences with swords? Don’t you realize the only thing we will gain is bitterness toward each other? When will you call off your men from chasing their Israelite brothers?"
27Then Joab said, "God only knows what would have happened if you hadn’t spoken, for we would have chased you all night if necessary."
28So Joab blew his trumpet, and his men stopped chasing the troops of Israel.
29All that night Abner and his men retreated through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, traveling all through the morning, and they did not stop until they arrived at Mahanaim.
30Meanwhile, Joab and his men also returned home. When Joab counted his casualties, he discovered that only nineteen men were missing, in addition to Asahel.
31But three hundred and sixty of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin, had been killed.
32Joab and his men took Asahel’s body to Bethlehem and buried him there beside his father. Then they traveled all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.