And it came to passafterthis, that Davidinquiredof the LORD, saying, Shall I go upinto anyof the citiesof Judah? And the LORDsaiduntohim, Go up. And Davidsaid, Whithershall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron. So Davidwent upthither, and his twowivesalso, Ahinoamthe Jezreelitess, and AbigailNabal's wifethe Carmelite. And his menthat were withhim did Davidbring up, every manwith his household: and they dweltin the citiesof Hebron. And the menof Judahcame, and therethey anointedDavidkingoverthe houseof Judah. And they toldDavid, saying, That the menof Jabesh-gilead were they thatburiedSaul. And Davidsentmessengersuntothe menof Jabesh-gilead, and saiduntothem, Blessed be yeof the LORD, thatye have showedthiskindnessuntoyour lord, even untoSaul, and have buriedhim. And nowthe LORDshowkindnessand truthuntoyou: and Ialsowill requiteyou thiskindness, becauseye have donethisthing. Therefore nowlet your handsbe strengthened, and beye valiant: foryour masterSaulis dead, and alsothe houseof Judahhave anointedme kingoverthem. But Abnerthe sonof Ner, captainof Saul's host, tookIsh-bosheth the sonof Saul, and brought him overto Mahanaim; And made him kingoverGilead, and overthe Ashurites, and overJezreel, and overEphraim, and overBenjamin, and overallIsrael. Ish-bosheth Saul's son was fortyyearsoldwhen he began to reignoverIsrael, and reignedtwoyears. Butthe houseof JudahfollowedDavid. And the timethatDavidwaskingin Hebronoverthe houseof Judahwassevenyearsand sixmonths. And Abnerthe sonof Ner, and the servantsof Ish-bosheth the sonof Saul, went outfrom Mahanaimto Gibeon. And Joabthe sonof Zeruiah, and the servantsof David, went out, and mettogetherbythe poolof Gibeon: and they sat down, the oneon the one sideofthe pool, and the otheron the other sideofthe pool. And AbnersaidtoJoab, Let the young mennowarise, and playbeforeus. And Joabsaid, Let them arise. Then there aroseand went overby numbertwelveof Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bosheth the sonof Saul, and twelveof the servantsof David. And they caughtevery onehis fellowby the head, and thrust his swordin his fellow's side; so they fell downtogether: wherefore thatplacewas calledHelkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. And there wasa verysorebattlethatday; and Abnerwas beaten, and the menof Israel, beforethe servantsof David. And therewerethreesonsof Zeruiahthere, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as lightof footas awildroe. And AsahelpursuedafterAbner; and in goinghe turnednottothe righthand nor tothe leftfrom followingAbner. Then Abnerlookedbehindhim, and said, Art thouAsahel? And he answered, I am . And Abnersaidto him, Turn thee asidetothy righthand ortothy left, and lay thee holdon oneof the young men, and takethee his armor. But Asahelwouldnotturn asidefrom followingof him. And AbnersaidagaintoAsahel, Turn thee asidefrom followingme: whereforeshould I smitethee to the ground? howthen should I hold upmy facetoJoabthy brother? Howbeit he refusedto turn aside: wherefore Abnerwith the hinder end ofthe spearsmotehim underthe fifth rib , that the spearcame outbehindhim; and he fell downthere, and diedin the same place: and it came to pass, that as manyas cametothe placewhereAsahelfell downand diedstood still. Joabalso and AbishaipursuedafterAbner: and the sunwent downwhen theywere cometothe hillof Ammah, that lieth beforeGiahby the wayof the wildernessof Gibeon. And the childrenof Benjamingathered themselves togetherafterAbner, and becameonetroop, and stoodonthe topof ahill. Then AbnercalledtoJoab, and said, Shall the sworddevourforever? knowestthou notthatit will bebitternessin the latter end? how longshall it be then, erethou bidthe peoplereturnfrom followingtheir brethren? And Joabsaid, As Godliveth, unlessthou hadst spoken, surelythenin the morningthe peoplehad gone upevery onefrom followinghis brother. So Joabblewa trumpet, and allthe peoplestoodstill, and pursuedafterIsraelnomore, neitherfoughtthey any more. And Abnerand his menwalkedallthatnightthrough the plain, and passed overJordan, and went throughallBithron, and they cameto Mahanaim. And Joabreturnedfrom followingAbner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lackedof David's servantsnineteenmenand Asahel. But the servantsof Davidhad smittenof Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that threehundredand threescoremendied. And they took upAsahel, and buriedhim in the sepulcherof his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joaband his menwentallnight, and they came to Hebronat break of day.