Episode 117: David kills the messenger

2 Samuel 1-2

1 ^1-2 After Saul died and David returned from slaughtering Amalekites, a young man with torn clothes came up to David and prostrated himself.

⁴ The man told David that Saul and Jonathan died in the battle.

⁵ David asked, "How do you know that?"

⁶ The young man said,

Saul called to me while he was leaning on his spear. ⁷He asked me who I was.

⁸ I told him, "I’m an Amalekite."

⁹ Then he asked me to kill him.

¹⁰ So I killed him, knowing that he wouldn't survive his wounds. I took his crown and bracelet and brought them to you.

¹¹ David and everyone who was with him rent their clothes, fasted, and wept for Saul and his son.

¹⁴ Then David asked the Amalekite, "Why weren't you afraid to kill the Lord's anointed?"

¹⁵ Before the Amalekite could answer, David called one of his young men, and said, “Kill him.”

And David's young man killed the Amalekite.

¹⁶ David said to the dead Amalekite,

Your blood is on your own head since you killed the Lord's anointed.

The song of the bow (and the love of Jonathan)

¹⁷ Then David sang the song of the bow.

¹⁹ How are the mighty fallen!

²⁰ But don't say it in Gath; it'd make the daughters of uncircumcised men happy.

²² The bow of Jonathan didn't turn back from the fat of the mighty, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

²⁶ I am sad for you, Jonathan. You were very pleasant to me. Your love for me was wonderful; it was better than the love of women.

David becomes king of Judah

2 ¹ David asked God, "Should I go to any of the cities of Judah?"

God answered, "Yes, Go to Judah."

"Where in Judah should I go?," David asked.

God said, "Go to Hebron."

² So David took his two wives and his men and went to Hebron.

⁴ As soon as they arrived, the men of Judah made David king.

Ishbosheth becomes king of Israel

^8-9 But Saul's captain, Abner, made Saul's son, Ishbosheth, king of Israel.

The young men "play" before Abner and Joab

¹² Abner, Ishbosheth's captain, and Joab, David's captain, met at the pool of Gibeon.

¹⁴ Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men play before us."

¹⁶ So twelve of Abner's young men fought twelve of Joab's, and all twenty-four died.

Squabbles between Judah and Israel

¹⁸ One of Joab's sons (Asahel) could run as fast as a wild roe. 19 He decided to attack Abner.

²¹ Abner said to him, "Turn to either the left or the right."

²³ But Asahel just kept going straight. So Abner killed him by smiting him under the fifth rib.

²⁶ Abner called Joab from the top of a hill, saying, "Are we going to kill each other forever?"

²⁷ Joab answered, "No, let's stop."

²⁸ So Joab blew a trumpet, and everyone stood still and stopped fighting.

^30-31 Joab had lost 19 men, and Abner 360.