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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>2 Samuel 3 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/2_samuel/3.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/2_samuel/3-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > 2 Samuel 3</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../2_samuel/2.htm" title="2 Samuel 2">◄</a> 2 Samuel 3 <a href="../2_samuel/4.htm" title="2 Samuel 4">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_1"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.1" class="v10_3_1">1</span>This battle was the beginning of a long war between the followers of Saul and the followers of David. Saul's power grew weaker, but David's grew stronger.</span></p><h3 class="s1">David's Sons Born in Hebron</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="1CH 3:1-4">1 Chronicles 3.1-4</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_2"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.2-2Sam.3.5" class="v10_3_2">2-5</span>Several of David's sons were born while he was living in Hebron. His oldest son was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel. David's second son was Chileab, whose mother was Abigail, who had been married to Nabal from Carmel. Absalom was the third. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of King Talmai of Geshur. The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. The fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital. The sixth was Ithream, whose mother was Eglah, another one of David's wives.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Abner Decides To Help David</h3><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_6"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.6" class="v10_3_6">6</span>As the war went on between the families of David and Saul, Abner was gaining more power than ever in Saul's family. </span><span class="v10_3_7"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.7" class="v10_3_7">7</span>He had even slept with a wife<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.7!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> of Saul by the name of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah. But Saul's son Ishbosheth<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.7!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> told Abner, “You shouldn't have slept with one of my father's wives!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_8"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.8" class="v10_3_8">8</span>Abner was very angry because of what Ishbosheth had said, and he told Ishbosheth:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v10_3_8">Am I some kind of worthless dog from Judah? I've always been loyal to your father's family and to his relatives and friends. I haven't turned you over to David. And yet you talk to me as if I've committed a crime with this woman.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v10_3_9"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.9" class="v10_3_9">9</span>I ask God to punish me if I don't help David get what the <span class="nd">Lord</span> promised him! </span><span class="v10_3_10"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.10" class="v10_3_10">10</span><a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.10!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> God said that he wouldn't let anyone in Saul's family ever be king again and that David would be king instead. He also said that David would rule both Israel and Judah, all the way from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.10!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_11"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.11" class="v10_3_11">11</span>Ishbosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not even answer.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_12"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.12" class="v10_3_12">12</span>Abner sent some of his men to David with this message: “You should be the ruler of the whole nation. If you make an agreement with me, I will persuade everyone in Israel to make you their king.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_13"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.13" class="v10_3_13">13</span>David sent this message back: “Good! I'll make an agreement with you. But before I will even talk with you about it, you must get Saul's daughter Michal back for me.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_14"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.14" class="v10_3_14">14</span><a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.14!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> David sent a few of his officials to Ishbosheth to give him this message: “Give me back my wife Michal! I killed 100 Philistines so I could marry her.”<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.14!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_15"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.15" class="v10_3_15">15</span>Ishbosheth sent some of his men to take Michal away from her new husband, Paltiel the son of Laish. </span><span class="v10_3_16"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.16" class="v10_3_16">16</span>Paltiel followed Michal and the men all the way to Bahurim, crying as he walked. But he went back home after Abner ordered him to leave.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_17"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.17" class="v10_3_17">17</span>Abner talked with the leaders of the tribes of Israel and told them, “You've wanted to make David your king for a long time now. </span><span class="v10_3_18"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.18" class="v10_3_18">18</span>So do it! After all, God said he would use his servant David to rescue his people Israel from their enemies, especially from the Philistines.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_19"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.19" class="v10_3_19">19</span>Finally, Abner talked with the tribe of Benjamin. Then he left for Hebron to tell David everything that the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of the people of Israel wanted to do. </span><span class="v10_3_20"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.20" class="v10_3_20">20</span>Abner took 20 soldiers with him, and when they got to Hebron, David gave a big feast for them.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_21"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.21" class="v10_3_21">21</span>After the feast, Abner said, “Your Majesty, let me leave now and bring Israel here to make an agreement with you. You'll be king of the whole nation, just as you've been wanting.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_21">David told Abner he could leave, and he left without causing any trouble.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Joab Kills Abner</h3><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_22"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.22" class="v10_3_22">22</span>Soon after Abner had left Hebron, Joab and some of David's soldiers came back, bringing a lot of things they had taken from an enemy village. </span><span class="v10_3_23"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.23" class="v10_3_23">23</span>Right after they arrived, someone told Joab, “Abner visited the king, and the king let him go. Abner even left without causing any trouble.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_24"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.24" class="v10_3_24">24</span>Joab went to David and said, “What have you done? Abner came to you, and you let him go. Now he's long gone! </span><span class="v10_3_25"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.25" class="v10_3_25">25</span>You know Abner—he came to trick you. He wants to find out how strong your army is and to know everything you're doing.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_26"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.26" class="v10_3_26">26</span>Joab left David, then he sent some messengers to catch up with Abner. They brought him back from the well at Sirah,<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.26!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> but David did not know anything about it. </span><span class="v10_3_27"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.27" class="v10_3_27">27</span>When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pretended he wanted to talk privately with him. So he took Abner into one of the small rooms that were part of the town gate and stabbed him in the stomach. Joab killed him because Abner had killed Joab's brother Asahel.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Abner's Funeral</h3><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_28"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.28" class="v10_3_28">28</span>David heard how Joab had killed Abner, and he said, “I swear to the <span class="nd">Lord</span> that I am completely innocent of Abner's death! </span><span class="v10_3_29"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.29" class="v10_3_29">29</span>Joab and his family are the guilty ones. I pray that Joab's family will always be sick with sores and other skin diseases. May they all be cowards,<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.29!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> and may they die in war or starve to death.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_30"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.30" class="v10_3_30">30</span>Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_31"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.31" class="v10_3_31">31</span>David told Joab and everyone with him, “Show your sorrow by tearing your clothes and wearing sackcloth!<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.31!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> Walk in front of Abner's body and cry!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_31">David walked behind the stretcher on which Abner's body was being carried. </span><span class="v10_3_32"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.32" class="v10_3_32">32</span>Abner was buried in Hebron, while David and everyone else stood at the tomb and cried loudly. </span><span class="v10_3_33"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.33" class="v10_3_33">33</span>Then the king sang a funeral song about Abner:</span></p><p class="b"></p><p class="q1"><span class="v10_3_33">Abner, why should you</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v10_3_33">have died like an outlaw?<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.33!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v10_3_34"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.34" class="v10_3_34">34</span>No one tied your hands</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v10_3_34">or chained your feet,</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v10_3_34">yet you died as a victim</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v10_3_34">of murderers.</span></p><p class="b"></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_34">Everyone started crying again. </span><span class="v10_3_35"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.35" class="v10_3_35">35</span>Then they brought some food to David and told him he would feel better if he had something to eat. It was still daytime, and David said, “I swear to God that I won't take a bite of bread or anything else until sunset!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_36"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.36" class="v10_3_36">36</span>Everyone noticed what David did, and they liked it, just as they always liked what he did. </span><span class="v10_3_37"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.37" class="v10_3_37">37</span>Now the people of Judah and Israel were certain that David had nothing to do with killing Abner.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v10_3_38"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.38" class="v10_3_38">38</span>David said to his officials, “Don't you realize that today one of Israel's great leaders has died? </span><span class="v10_3_39"><span class="reftext" id="2Sam.3.39" class="v10_3_39">39</span>I am the chosen king, but Joab and Abishai have more power than I do. So God will have to pay them back<a href="#fn" id="link_2Sam.3.39!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> for the evil thing they did.”</span></p></div> </div> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.7 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">wife: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">This translates a Hebrew word for a woman who was legally bound to a man, but without the full privileges of a wife.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.7 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Ishbosheth: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See the note at 2.8.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.10 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">from … south: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Hebrew “from Dan to Beersheba.” This was one way of describing all of the Israelite land, from north to south.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.14 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">I killed … marry her: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See 1 Samuel 18.20-27.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.26 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">well at Sirah: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “oasis of Sirah” or “cistern at Sirah.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.29 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">cowards: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.31 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">sackcloth: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Sackcloth was a rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and was used to make grain sacks. People wore sackcloth or tore their clothes in times of trouble or sorrow.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.33 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">outlaw: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “fool.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.39 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">God … back: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “I pray that God will pay them back.”</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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