Day 51

2 Samuel 2-4

David Anointed King of Judah

2 After this David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.” 2 So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. 4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

When they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” 5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. 6 Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. 7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Ish-bosheth Made King of Israel

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

The Battle of Gibeon

12 Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” 15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon. 17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

18 And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. 19 And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. 20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” 21 Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. 22 And Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?” 23 But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.

24 But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?” 27 And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning.” 28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore.

29 And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim. 30 Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David’s servants nineteen men besides Asahel. 31 But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner’s men. 32 And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.

Abner Joins David

3 There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

2 And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3 and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

6 While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” 8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, “Am I a dog’s head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. 9 God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him, 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.” 11 And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

12 And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you.” 13 And he said, “Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned.

17 And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. 18 Now then bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.’ ” 19 Abner also spoke to Benjamin. And then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin thought good to do.

20 When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 And Abner said to David, “I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

22 Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace.” 24 Then Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone? 25 You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.”

Joab Murders Abner

26 When Joab came out from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. But David did not know about it. 27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. 28 Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread!” 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

David Mourns Abner

31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner.” And King David followed the bier. 32 They buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And the king lamented for Abner, saying,

       “Should Abner die as a fool dies?

34    Your hands were not bound;

your feet were not fettered;

       as one falls before the wicked

you have fallen.”

And all the people wept again over him. 35 Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day. But David swore, saying, “God do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!” 36 And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king’s will to put to death Abner the son of Ner. 38 And the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 And I was gentle today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!”

Ish-bosheth Murdered

4 When Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benjamin from Beeroth (for Beeroth also is counted part of Benjamin; 3 the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there to this day).

4 Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest. 6 And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. 7 When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. They took his head and went by the way of the Arabah all night, 8 and brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. And they said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.” 9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, 10 when one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?” 12 And David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner at Hebron. [1]

Psalms 6, 8-10, 14, 16

O Lord, Deliver My Life

6 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

1    O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath.

2    Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;

heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

3    My soul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O Lord—how long?

4    Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5    For in death there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

6    I am weary with my moaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

7    My eye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

8    Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

9    The Lord has heard my plea;

the Lord accepts my prayer.

10    All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. [2]

How Majestic Is Your Name

8 To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

1    O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

       You have set your glory above the heavens.

2        Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

       you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

3    When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4    what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

5    Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

6    You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

7    all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

8    the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9    O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

9  To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1    I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;

I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

2    I will be glad and exult in you;

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

3    When my enemies turn back,

they stumble and perish before your presence.

4    For you have maintained my just cause;

you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

5    You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;

you have blotted out their name forever and ever.

6    The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;

their cities you rooted out;

the very memory of them has perished.

7    But the Lord sits enthroned forever;

he has established his throne for justice,

8    and he judges the world with righteousness;

he judges the peoples with uprightness.

9    The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

10    And those who know your name put their trust in you,

for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11    Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!

Tell among the peoples his deeds!

12    For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;

he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13    Be gracious to me, O Lord!

See my affliction from those who hate me,

O you who lift me up from the gates of death,

14    that I may recount all your praises,

that in the gates of the daughter of Zion

I may rejoice in your salvation.

15    The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;

in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.

16    The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;

the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

17    The wicked shall return to Sheol,

all the nations that forget God.

18    For the needy shall not always be forgotten,

and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

19    Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;

let the nations be judged before you!

20    Put them in fear, O Lord!

Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

10 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2    In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;

let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

3    For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,

and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.

4    In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;

all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

5    His ways prosper at all times;

your judgments are on high, out of his sight;

as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

6    He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

7    His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;

under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

8    He sits in ambush in the villages;

in hiding places he murders the innocent.

       His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9        he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;

       he lurks that he may seize the poor;

he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10    The helpless are crushed, sink down,

and fall by his might.

11    He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,

he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

12    Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;

forget not the afflicted.

13    Why does the wicked renounce God

and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

14    But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,

that you may take it into your hands;

       to you the helpless commits himself;

you have been the helper of the fatherless.

15    Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

call his wickedness to account till you find none.

16    The Lord is king forever and ever;

the nations perish from his land.

17    O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;

you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18    to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. [3]

The Fool Says, There Is No God

14 To the choirmaster. Of David.

1    The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

there is none who does good.

2    The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.

3    They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

4    Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

who eat up my people as they eat bread

and do not call upon the Lord?

5    There they are in great terror,

for God is with the generation of the righteous.

6    You would shame the plans of the poor,

but the Lord is his refuge.

7    Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. [4]

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

16 A Miktam of David.

1    Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

2    I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you.”

3    As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.

4    The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or take their names on my lips.

5    The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

6    The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7    I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

8    I have set the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9    Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

10    For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

11    You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. [5]