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The Blue Letter Bible

2 Samuel 2 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

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David Anointed King of Judah

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:1

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:1 - After this David inquired 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 Hebron.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:2

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:2 - So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:3

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:3 - And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:4

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:4 - And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:5

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:5 - David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:6

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:6 - Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:7

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:7 - Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:8

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:8 - But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:9

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:9 - and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:10

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:10 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:11

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:11 - And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

The Battle of Gibeon

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:12

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:12 - Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:13

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:13 - And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:14

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:14 - And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:15

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:15 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:16

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:16 - 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,[fn] which is at Gibeon.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:17

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:17 - And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:18

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:18 - And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:19

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:19 - And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:20

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:20 - Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:21

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:21 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:22

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:22 - 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?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:23

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:23 - But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:24

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:24 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:25

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:25 - And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:26

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:26 - 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?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:27

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:27 - And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:28

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:28 - So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:29

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:29 - And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:30

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:30 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:31

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:31 - But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner’s men.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 2:32

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 2:32 - 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.
See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
ESV Footnotes
Helkath-hazzurim means the field of sword-edges
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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2 Samuel Chapter 2 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras