2 Samuel 3
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Now there was a long a war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
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Sons were born b to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon c by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
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his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; the third, d Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king e of Geshur;
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the fourth, f Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
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and the sixth, Ithream, by David's wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
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Now it was so, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner was strengthening his hold on the house of Saul.
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And Saul had a concubine, whose name was g Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, "Why have you h gone in to my father's concubine?"
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Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, "Am I i a dog's head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman?
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j "May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David k as the LORD has sworn to him -
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"to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, l from Dan to Beersheba."
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And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
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Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, "Whose is the land?" saying also, "Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you."
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And David said, "Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: m you shall not see my face unless you first bring n Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face."
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So David sent messengers to o Ishbosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself p for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines."
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And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish.
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Then her husband went along with her to q Bahurim, weeping behind her. So Abner said to him, "Go, return!" And he returned.
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Now Abner had communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, "In time past you were seeking for David to be king over you.
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"Now then, do it! r For the LORD has spoken of David, saying, 'By the hand of My servant David, I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.' "
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And Abner also spoke in the hearing of s Benjamin. Then Abner also went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.
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So Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.
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Then Abner said to David, "I will arise and go, and t gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may u reign over all that your heart desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
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At that moment the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.
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When Joab and all the troops that were with him had come, they told Joab, saying, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace."
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Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone?
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"Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know v your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing."
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And when Joab had gone from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it.
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Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab w took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him x in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of y Asahel his brother.
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Afterward, when David heard it, he said, "My kingdom and I are guiltless before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner.
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z "Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father's house; and let there never fail to be in the house of Joab one a who has a discharge or is a leper, who leans on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread."
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So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother b Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
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Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, c "Tear your clothes, d gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn for Abner." And King David followed the coffin.
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So they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.
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And the king sang a lament over Abner and said:
"Should Abner die as a e fool dies?
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Your hands were not bound
Nor your feet put into fetters;
As a man falls before wicked men, so you fell."
Then all the people wept over him again.
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And when all the people came f to persuade David to eat food while it was still day, David took an oath, saying, g "God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else h till the sun goes down!"
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Now all the people took note of it, and it pleased them, since whatever the king did pleased all the people.
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For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's intent to kill Abner the son of Ner.
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Then the king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?
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"And I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, i are too harsh for me. j The LORD shall repay the evildoer according to his wickedness."
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Cross References
1 Samuel 20:6
"If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.'
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Cross References
1 Kings 14:30
And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
Psalms 46:9
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.
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Cross References
1 Chronicles 3:1 - 4
Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelitess.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 25:42
So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.
1 Samuel 25:43
David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and so both of them were his wives.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 15:1 - 10
After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
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Cross References
Joshua 13:13
Nevertheless the children of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maachathites, but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
1 Samuel 27:8
And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.
2 Samuel 13:37
But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.
2 Samuel 14:32
And Absalom answered Joab, "Look, I sent to you, saying, 'Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still." ' Now therefore, let me see the king's face; but if there is iniquity in me, let him execute me.
2 Samuel 15:8
"For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, 'If the LORD indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.'"
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Cross References
1 Kings 1:5
Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 21:8 - 11
So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 16:21
And Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go in to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 23:18
You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.
1 Samuel 24:14
After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?
2 Samuel 9:8
Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?
2 Samuel 16:9
Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!
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Cross References
Ruth 1:17
Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.
1 Kings 19:2
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 15:28
So Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.
1 Samuel 16:1
Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.
1 Samuel 16:12
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!
1 Samuel 28:17
And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.
1 Chronicles 12:23
Now these were the numbers of the divisions that were equipped for war, and came to David at Hebron to turn over the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD:
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Cross References
Judges 20:1
So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
1 Samuel 3:20
And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD.
2 Samuel 17:11
Therefore I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.
1 Kings 4:25
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
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Cross References
Genesis 43:3
But Judah spoke to him, saying, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 18:20
Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
1 Samuel 19:11
Saul also sent messengers to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.
1 Samuel 25:44
But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
2 Samuel 6:16
Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 2:10
Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 18:25 - 27
Then Saul said, "Thus you shall say to David: 'The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king's enemies.' " But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 16:5
Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came.
2 Samuel 19:16
And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 3:9
May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the LORD has sworn to him -
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Cross References
1 Samuel 10:20
And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
1 Samuel 10:21
When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.
1 Chronicles 12:29
Of the sons of Benjamin, relatives of Saul, three thousand (until then the greatest part of them had remained loyal to the house of Saul).
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Cross References
2 Samuel 3:10
"to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba."
2 Samuel 3:12
Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, "Whose is the land?" saying also, "Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you.
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Cross References
1 Kings 11:37
So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:6
Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
1 Samuel 29:6
Then Achish called David and said to him, "Surely, as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you.
Isaiah 37:28
But I know your dwelling place, Your going out and your coming in, And your rage against Me.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 20:9
Then Joab said to Amasa, " Are you in health, my brother?" And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
2 Samuel 20:10
But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab's hand. And he struck him with it in the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike him again. Thus he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.
1 Kings 2:5
Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 4:6
And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 2:23
However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 21:6 - 9
And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
1 Kings 2:32
So the LORD will return his blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword - Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah - though my father David did not know it.
1 Kings 2:33
"Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD."
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Cross References
Leviticus 15:2
Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 2:23
However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.
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Cross References
Joshua 7:6
Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
2 Samuel 1:2
On the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.
2 Samuel 1:11
Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.
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Cross References
Genesis 37:34
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 13:12
But she answered him, "No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
2 Samuel 13:13
"And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you."
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Cross References
2 Samuel 12:17
So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
Jeremiah 16:7
Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother.
Jeremiah 16:8
"Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink."
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Cross References
Ruth 1:17
Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.
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Cross References
Judges 20:26
Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
2 Samuel 1:12
And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 19:5 - 7
Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, "Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.