1And after this, David inquired of the LORD: “Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up.” And David asked, “Where shall I go?” And He said, “To Hebron.” 2So David went up there, with his two wives: Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess; and Abigail, Nabal's widow, the Carmelite. 3And all who were with him brought their families up; and they settled in the cities of Hebron.

4And the men of Judah came to Hebron, and anointed David king over the tribe of Judah. And they told David, “The men of Jabesh-gilead were those who buried Saul.” 5And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and told them, “May the LORD bless you who have shown this kindness to Saul, and have buried him. 6And may the LORD show you kindness and truth; and I will also show you kindness, because you have done this thing. 7Now, then, be strong, and brave; for your leader, Saul, is dead, and the tribe of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

8But Abner, son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, and brought him over to Mahanaim; 9And made him king over Gilead - the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all the rest of Israel. 10Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the tribe of Judah followed David. 11And David was king over Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months.

12And Abner, and the followers of Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13And Joab, son of Zeruiah, and the followers of David, went out, and met with them by the pool of Gibeon; where they sat down, one on one side of the pool, and the other on the other side. 14And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men rise now, and fight, hand to hand, before us.” And Joab said, “Let them rise.” 15Then twelve of Benjamin, for Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, rose and went over, and twelve of David. 16And each one caught his opponent by the head, and thrust his dagger into his opponent's side; so they all fell and died together; therefore that place was called “Helkath-hazzurim” (the field of sharp edges), which is in Gibeon. 17And a very fierce battle ensued that day, in which Abner’s men were defeated by Joab and the men of David.

18And there were three sons of Zeruiah there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was as fleet of foot as a wild roe. 19And Asahel pursued Abner relentlessly. 20Then Abner looked back, and said, “Are you Asahel?” And he said, “I am.” 21And Abner said, “Turn aside to your right or your left, and take on one of the younger men.” But Asahel would not stop pursuing him. 22And Abner repeated, “Turn aside from following me! Why should I kill you? How could I ever face your brother, Joab, again?” 23But Asahel refused to turn aside. And so, Abner thrust the butt end of his spear into the stomach of Asahel, so that the spear came out his back; and he fell and died on the spot; and as others came to the place where Asahel died, they stopped and stood still.

24Joab and Abishai also pursued Abner; and the sun went down when they had reached the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25And the descendants of Benjamin rallied behind Abner, and formed one troop, and took their stand on the top of a hill. 26Then Abner called to Joab, and said, “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not know that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their brothers?” 27And Joab said, “As God lives, unless you had spoken, surely the people would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.” 28So Joab blew a trumpet, and all his men came to a halt, and no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.

29And all that night, Abner and his men retreated through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through Bithron; and by morning they came to Mahanaim. 30And Joab returned from following Abner; and when he had mustered them all together, of David's servants there were only nineteen men and Asahel missing. 31But the men of David had killed three hundred sixty men of Benjamin, Abner's men. 32And they took Asahel, and buried him in the tomb of his father in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men traveled all night, and arrived at Hebron at daybreak.