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1However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.
2Now sons were born to David in Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, born to Ahinoam the Jezreelite.
3His second son was Kileab, born to Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. His third son was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur.[#tn The Hebrew text does not have the word “son.” So also in vv. 3-5.; #tn Heb “wife.”]
4His fourth son was Adonijah, the son of Haggith. His fifth son was Shephatiah, the son of Abitail.
5His sixth son was Ithream, born to David’s wife Eglah. These sons were all born to David in Hebron.[#tn The Hebrew text does not have “sons.”]
6As the war continued between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was becoming more influential in the house of Saul.[#tn Heb “was strengthening himself.” The statement may have a negative sense here, perhaps suggesting that Abner was overstepping the bounds of political propriety in a self-serving way.]
7Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you have sexual relations with my father’s concubine?”[#tc The Hebrew of the MT reads simply “and he said,” with no expressed subject for the verb. It is not likely that the text originally had no expressed subject for this verb, since the antecedent is not immediately clear from the context. We should probably restore to the Hebrew text the name “Ish-bosheth.” See a few medieval Hebrew mss, Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and Vulgate. Perhaps the name was accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. Note that both the name Ishbosheth and the following preposition אֶל (’el) begin with the letter alef.; #tn Heb “come to”; KJV, NRSV “gone in to”; NAB “been intimate with”; NIV “sleep with.”; #sn This accusation against Abner is a very serious one, since an act of sexual infringement on the king’s harem would probably have been understood as a blatant declaration of aspirations to kingship. As such it was not merely a matter of ethical impropriety but an act of grave political significance as well.]
8These words of Ish-bosheth really angered Abner and he said, “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? This very day I am demonstrating loyalty to the house of Saul your father and to his relatives and his friends! I have not betrayed you into the hand of David. Yet you have accused me of sinning with this woman today![#tn Heb “I do.”; #tn Heb “brothers.”; #tn Heb “and you have laid upon me the guilt of the woman today.”]
9God will severely judge Abner if I do not do for David exactly what the Lord has promised him,[#tn Heb “So will God do to Abner and so he will add to him.”; #tc Heb “has sworn to David.” The LXX, with the exception of the recension of Origen, adds “in this day.”]
10namely, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah all the way from Dan to Beer Sheba!”
11Ish-bosheth was unable to answer Abner with even a single word because he was afraid of him.[#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ish-bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.]
12Then Abner sent messengers to David saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make an agreement with me, and I will do whatever I can to cause all Israel to turn to you.”[#tn The Hebrew text adds here, “on his behalf.”; #tn Heb “cut a covenant.” So also in vv. 13, 21.; #tn Heb “and behold, my hand is with you.”]
13So David said, “Good! I will make an agreement with you. I ask only one thing from you. You will not see my face unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to visit me.”[#tn The words “when you come to see my face,” though found in the Hebrew text, are somewhat redundant given the similar expression in the earlier part of the verse. The words are absent from the Syriac Peshitta.]
14David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul with this demand: “Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”[#tn Heb “to Ish-bosheth son of Saul saying.” To avoid excessive sibilance (especially when read aloud) the translation renders “saying” as “with this demand.”; #tn Heb “whom I betrothed to myself.”]
15So Ish-bosheth took her from her husband Paltiel son of Laish.[#tn Heb “sent and took her.”; #tn In 1 Sam 25:44 this name appears as “Palti.”]
16Her husband went along behind her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Finally Abner said to him, “Go back!” So he returned home.[#tn Heb “Go, return.”]
17Abner advised the elders of Israel, “Previously you were wanting David to be your king.[#tn Heb “the word of Abner was with.”; #tn Heb “you were seeking David to be king over you.”]
18Act now! For the Lord has said to David, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the Philistines and from all their enemies.’”[#tc The present translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate in reading “I will save,” rather than the MT “he saved.” The context calls for the 1st person common singular imperfect of the verb rather than the 3rd person masculine singular perfect.; #tn Heb “from the hand of.”]
19Then Abner spoke privately with the Benjaminites. Abner also went to Hebron to inform David privately of all that Israel and the entire house of Benjamin had agreed to.[#tn Heb “into the ears of.”; #tn Heb “also Abner went to speak into the ears of David in Hebron.”; #tn Heb “all which was good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin.”]
20When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a banquet for Abner and the men who were with him.
21Abner said to David, “Let me leave so that I may go and gather all Israel to my lord the king so that they may make an agreement with you. Then you will rule over all that you desire.” So David sent Abner away, and he left in peace.[#tn After the cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.]
22Now David’s soldiers and Joab were coming back from a raid, bringing a great deal of plunder with them. Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for David had sent him away and he had left in peace.[#tn Heb “And look, the servants of David.”; #tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.]
23When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, Joab was told: “Abner the son of Ner came to the king; he sent him away, and he left in peace!”
24So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way![#tn Heb “Look, Abner.”; #tc The LXX adds “in peace.”]
25You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return and to discover everything that you are doing!”[#tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The expression is a merism. It specifically mentions the polar extremities of the actions but includes all activity in between the extremities as well, thus encompassing the entirety of one’s activities.]
26Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well of Sirah. (But David was not aware of it.)
27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel.[#tn Heb “and he struck him down there [in] the stomach.”; #tn Heb “and he [i.e., Abner] died on account of the blood of Asahel his [i.e., Joab’s] brother.”]
28When David later heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the shed blood of Abner son of Ner!
29May his blood whirl over the head of Joab and the entire house of his father! May the males of Joab’s house never cease to have someone with a running sore or a skin disease or one who works at the spindle or one who falls by the sword or one who lacks food!”[#tn Heb “and may they whirl over.” In the Hebrew text the subject of the plural verb is unexpressed. The most likely subject is Abner’s “shed blood” (v. 28), which is a masculine plural form in Hebrew. The verb חוּל (khul, “whirl”) is used with the preposition עַל (’al) only here and in Jer 23:19; 30:23.; #tc 4QSama has “of Joab” rather than “of his father” read by the MT.; #tn Heb “the house of Joab.” However, it is necessary to specify that David’s curse is aimed at Joab’s male descendants; otherwise it would not be clear that “one who works at the spindle” refers to a man doing woman’s work rather than a woman.; #tn Heb “and may there not be cut off from the house of Joab.”; #tn The expression used here is difficult. The translation “one who works at the spindle” follows a suggestion of S. R. Driver that the expression pejoratively describes an effeminate man who, rather than being a mighty warrior, is occupied with tasks that are normally fulfilled by women (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 250-51; cf. NAB “one unmanly”; TEV “fit only to do a woman’s work”; CEV “cowards”). But P. K. McCarter, following an alleged Phoenician usage of the noun to refer to “crutches,” adopts a different view. He translates the phrase “clings to a crutch,” seeing here a further description of physical lameness (II Samuel [AB], 118). Such an idea fits the present context well and is followed by NIV, NCV, and NLT, although the evidence for this meaning is questionable. According to DNWSI 2:915-16, the noun consistently refers to a spindle in Phoenician, as it does in Ugaritic (see UT 468).]
30So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel in Gibeon during the battle.
31David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes! Put on sackcloth! Lament before Abner!” Now King David followed behind the funeral bier.[#tn Heb “was walking.”]
32So they buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly over Abner’s grave and all the people wept too.[#tn Heb “lifted up his voice and wept.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.]
33The king chanted the following lament for Abner:
“Should Abner have died like a fool?
34Your hands were not bound,[#tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew manuscripts and several ancient versions in reading “your hands,” rather than “your hand.”]
and your feet were not put into irons.
You fell the way one falls before criminals.”
All the people wept over him again.
35Then all the people came and encouraged David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath saying, “God will punish me severely if I taste bread or anything whatsoever before the sun sets!”[#tn Heb “Thus God will do to me and thus he will add.”]
36All the people noticed this and it pleased them. In fact, everything the king did pleased all the people.[#tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”]
37All the people and all Israel realized on that day that the killing of Abner son of Ner was not done at the king’s instigation.[#tn Heb “from the king.”]
38Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not realize that a great leader has fallen this day in Israel?[#tn Heb “a leader and a great one.” The expression is a hendiadys.]
39Today I am weak, even though I am anointed as king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too much for me to bear! May the Lord punish appropriately the one who has done this evil thing!”[#tn Heb “are hard from me.”; #tn Heb “May the Lord repay the doer of the evil according to his evil” (NASB similar).]