1 Ndele pa li oita efimbo lile pokati kepata laSaul nepata laDavid. Ndele eenghono daDavid da ehena komesho efimbo alishe, ndelenee epata laSaul la xutuka efimbo alishe.
Ovana ovamati vaDavid va dalelwa muHebron
2 Ndele David a dalelwa ovana ovamati muHebron. Noshiveli shaye sha li Amnon, ina Ahinoam womuJisreel. 3 Nomutivali waye okwa li Kileab, ina Abigail, omwalikadi waNabal, Omukarmel. Nomutitatu oAbsalom, omona waMaaka, omona okakadona kaTalmai, ohamba yaGesur. 4 Nomutine oAdonia, omona waHaggit. Nomutitano oSefatja, omona waAbital. 5 Nomutihamano oJitream, ina Egla, omwalikadi waDavid. Vo ova dalelwa David muHebron.
Abner te liyandje kuDavid
6 Ndele fimbo pa li oita pokati kepata laSaul nepata laDavid, Abner okwe lipamekela eumbo laSaul. 7 Saul okwa li e nomwalikadi wopomunghulo, edina laye Rispa, omona waAja. Ndele Isboset okwa lombwela Abner: Omolwashike wa lile komwalikadi watate wopomunghulo? 8 Opo nee Abner okwa handuka unene omolweendjovo daIsboset ndele ta ti: “Aame omutwe wombwa yaJuda mbela? Ame handi file onghenda epata laxo Saul novamwaina nookaume kaye. Ndele inandi ku yandja momake aDavid, ndele nena eli to vele nge eembedi molwokunyona kwange nomukainhu? 9 Kalunga na handukile nge nena nokomesho, ngeenge itandi ningile David ngaashi Omwene e mu udanekela nokwaana. Osho handi ke mu ningila. 10 Ouhamba ohandi u kufa mepata laSaul ndi dike olukalwapangelo laDavid, ye a pangele Israel naJuda, okudja kuDan fiyo okuBerseba.” 11 Ndele Isboset ina shiiva okunyamukula shaAbner, osheshi e mu tila. 12 Opo nee Abner a tuma ovatumwa kuDavid apa a li va tye: Oshilongo oshalyelye? Ninga ehangano naame. Ndele tala, eke lange opo li ameke Israel ashishe kwoove. 13 Ndele ye ta ti: Eewa. Ame ohandi ka ninga ehangano naave, ndelenee oshinima shimwe handi shi pula kwoove, nokutya: Ino holoka koshipala shange okuninga to eta Mikal yaSaul pamwe naave, eshi to uya koshipala shange. 14 David okwa tuma yo ovatumwa kuIsboset yaSaul va tye: Pe nge omwalikadi wange Mikal, ou nde mu onda noipa efele limwe yeenhele doulumenhu wOvafilisti. 15 Ndele Isboset okwa tuma nokwe mu kufa komulumenhu waye Paltiel yaLais. 16 Nomulumenhu waye okwa enda pamwe naye, ndele te mu shikula, ta lili fiyo okuBahurim. Opo nee Abner ta ti kuye: Shuna! Ndele ye okwa shuna.
17 Ndele Abner okwa kundafana novakulunhu vOvaisraeli ndele ta ti: “Shito omwa li mwa hala David a ninge ohamba yeni. 18 Shi wanifeni hano, osheshi mokutonga David Omwene a tile: ‘Neke lomupiya wange David, Ame ohandi ka xupififa oshiwana shange Israel momake Ovafilisti nomomake ovatondadi vavo aveshe.’ ” 19 Ndele Abner okwa popya yo momatwi Ovabenjamin. Ndele Abner okwa ya yo kuHebron nokwa popya momatwi aDavid ashishe osho sha li shiwa momesho Ovaisraeli nomomesho epata alishe laBenjamin. 20 Abner eshi e uya kuDavid muHebron pamwe novalumenhu omilongo mbali David okwa telekela Abner novanhu vaye oshitelekela. 21 Ndele Abner ta ti kuDavid: “Ame nda hala okufikama nokwoongela Ovaisraeli aveshe komwene wange ohamba, opo va ninge ehangano naave. Opo nee to dulu okupangela ashishe osho omwenyo woye wa hala.” Opo nee David a lekela Abner ndele ye a ya nombili.
Joab ta dipaa Abner
22 Opo tuu opo ovapiya vaDavid naJoab va aluka okushinga oita, ndele va eta oixuulwa ihapu pamwe navo. Ndelenee Abner ina hangika vali puDavid muHebron, osheshi ye e mu lekela nokwa ya nombili. 23 Joab netanga alishe lovakwaita ovo va li pamwe naye, eshi ve uya keumbo, Joab okwa shiivifilwa kutya, Abner yaNer e uya kohamba, ndele yo ye mu lekela nokwa ya nombili. 24 Opo nee Joab e uya kohamba ndele ta ti: Ove wa ninga ngahelipi? Tala, Abner e uya kwoove. Omolwashike we mu efa a ye ashike ngaha? 25 Abner yaNer ou mu shii nokutya, okwa ile pwoove e ku pukife, opo a shiive okudja kwoye nokuuya po kwoye, heeno, opo a shiive ashishe ove to shi ningi. 26 Joab eshi a dja po puDavid okwa tuma ovatumwa va ka shikule Abner. Vo ve mu alula komufima waHassira. Ndelenee David ina shiiva sha. 27 Abner eshi e uya kuHebron, Joab e mu twala pomunghulo meni loshikololo shoshivelo a popye naye mongumitila, ndele te mu tu medimo, ndele ta fi, omolwomumwaina Asahel. 28 David eshi e shi uda ta ti: Ame noshilongo shange, katu netimba lohonde yaAbner yaNer fiyo alushe koshipala shOmwene. 29 Nali wile komutwe waJoab nokombada yepata laye alishe, ndele meumbo laJoab mu nokukala omunhu ou e na eshisho lomaxu ile oudu woshilundu ile ou ta endele keemhani ile ou ta dipawa keongamukonda ile ou a hepa omungome. 30 Osho ngaha Joab nomumwaina Abisai va dipaa Abner, shaashi ye okwa dipaele omumwaina Asahel molwoodi puGibeon. 31 David okwa lombwela vali Joab novanhu aveshe ava va kala puye ta ti: Pombauleni oikutu yeni mu djale oikutu yeefya mu lile Abner. Nohamba David ya enda konima yolutala lomudimba. 32 Vo eshi va paka Abner muHebron, ohamba ya yelula ondaka yayo ndele tai lili pombila yaAbner. Ovanhu aveshe va lila yo. 33 Nohamba ya tota eimbilo leenghali omolwaAbner ndele tai ti:
“Abner okwa li tuu e nokufya efyo lelai?
34 Omake oye inaa mangwa
nomaulu oye inaa tulwa mo momalyenge oshikushu.
Ove wa fya ngaashi omunhu ta fi
komake ovakolokoshi.”
Novanhu aveshe ve mu lila nokulililila pombada. 35 Opo nee ovanhu aveshe ve uya, fimbo ku yela va fininike David a lye omungome. Ndelenee David okwa ana ndele ta ti: Kalunga na handukile nge nena nokomesho ngeenge handi makele omungome ile shimwe shi lili etango fimbo inali ningina. 36 Novanhu aveshe ve shi dimbulukwa ndele oshe va wapalela. Ngaashi ashishe osho ohamba ya ninga sha wapalela ovanhu. 37 Novanhu aveshe naIsrael ashishe ve shi dimbulukwa efiku tuu olo nokutya, edipao laAbner yaNer inali dja kohamba. 38 Ohamba ya lombwela vali ovapiya vayo, tai ti: “Inamu shiiva nokutya, nena omukulunhu nomulumenhu munene womuIsrael a fya? 39 Ndelenee ame oshingone natango, nande nda vaekwa ndi ninge ohamba, ndele ovalumenhu ovo, ovana ovamati vaSeruja otava nyenge nge molwoukukutu wavo. Omwene na alulile omukolokoshi paukolokoshi waye!”
1 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.
David's Sons Born in Hebron
(1 Chronicles 3.1-4)2-5 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.
Abner Decides To Help David
6 As the war went on between the families of David and Saul, Abner was gaining more power than ever in Saul's family. 7 He had even slept with a wife of Saul by the name of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah. But Saul's son Ishbosheth told Abner, “You shouldn't have slept with one of my father's wives!”
8 Abner was very angry because of what Ishbosheth had said, and he told Ishbosheth:
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.
9 I ask God to punish me if I don't help David get what the Lord promised him! 10 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.
11 Ishbosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not even answer.
12 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.”
13 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.”
14 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.”
15 Ishbosheth sent some of his men to take Michal away from her new husband, Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 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.
17 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. 18 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.”
19 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. 20 Abner took 20 soldiers with him, and when they got to Hebron, David gave a big feast for them.
21 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.”
David told Abner he could leave, and he left without causing any trouble.
Joab Kills Abner
22 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. 23 Right after they arrived, someone told Joab, “Abner visited the king, and the king let him go. Abner even left without causing any trouble.”
24 Joab went to David and said, “What have you done? Abner came to you, and you let him go. Now he's long gone! 25 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.”
26 Joab left David, then he sent some messengers to catch up with Abner. They brought him back from the well at Sirah, but David did not know anything about it. 27 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.
Abner's Funeral
28 David heard how Joab had killed Abner, and he said, “I swear to the Lord that I am completely innocent of Abner's death! 29 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, and may they die in war or starve to death.”
30 Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.
31 David told Joab and everyone with him, “Show your sorrow by tearing your clothes and wearing sackcloth! Walk in front of Abner's body and cry!”
David walked behind the stretcher on which Abner's body was being carried. 32 Abner was buried in Hebron, while David and everyone else stood at the tomb and cried loudly. 33 Then the king sang a funeral song about Abner:
Abner, why should you
have died like an outlaw?
34 No one tied your hands
or chained your feet,
yet you died as a victim
of murderers.
Everyone started crying again. 35 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!”
36 Everyone noticed what David did, and they liked it, just as they always liked what he did. 37 Now the people of Judah and Israel were certain that David had nothing to do with killing Abner.
38 David said to his officials, “Don't you realize that today one of Israel's great leaders has died? 39 I am the chosen king, but Joab and Abishai have more power than I do. So God will have to pay them back for the evil thing they did.”
