12 One day Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13So Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.

14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.”

“Let them get up,” Joab replied.

15 So they got up and were counted off — twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim.

17 The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.

18 The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle, 19and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit. 20And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”

“It is,” Asahel replied.

21 So Abner told him, “Turn to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself.”

But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

22 Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”

23 But Asahel refused to turn away. So Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died. 24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

25 The Benjamites rallied to Abner, formed a single unit, and took their stand atop a hill. 26Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”

27“As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.”

28 So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight. 29And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.

30 When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops.

In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, 31but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner. 32And they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.

1 Now the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was protracted. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

2 And sons were born to David in Hebron:

These sons were born to David in Hebron.

6 During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had continued to strengthen his position in the house of Saul. 7Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

8 Abner was furious over Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I have been loyal to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends. I have not delivered you into the hand of David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman! 9May God punish Abner, and ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord has sworn to him: 10to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.”

11 And for fear of Abner, Ish-bosheth did not dare to say another word to him.

12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and surely my hand will be with you to bring all Israel over to you.”

13“Good,” replied David, “I will make a covenant with you. But there is one thing I require of you: Do not appear before me unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to see me.”

14 Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, “Give me back my wife, Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

15 So Ish-bosheth sent and took Michal from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. 16Her husband followed her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back.” So he returned home.

17 Now Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “In the past you sought David as your king. 18Now take action, because the Lord has said to David, ‘Through My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hands of the Philistines and of all their enemies.’”

19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites. Then he went to Hebron to tell David all that seemed good to Israel and to the whole house of Benjamin. 20When Abner and twenty of his men came to David at Hebron, David held a feast for them.

21 Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once, and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.”

So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.

22 Just then David’s soldiers and Joab returned from a raid, bringing with them a great plunder. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, because David had sent him on his way in peace. 23When Joab and all his troops arrived, he was informed, “Abner son of Ner came to see the king, who sent him on his way in peace.”

24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he is getting away! 25Surely you realize that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you and to track your movements and all that you are doing.”

26 As soon as Joab had left David, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David was unaware of it.

27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.

28 Afterward, David heard about this and said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29May it whirl over the head of Joab and over the entire house of his father, and may the house of Joab never be without one having a discharge or skin disease, or one who leans on a staff or falls by the sword or lacks food.”

30(Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

31 Then David ordered Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the funeral bier.

32 When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb, and all the people wept. 33And the king sang this lament for Abner:

And all the people wept over him even more.

35 Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

36 All the people took note and were pleased. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. 37So on that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.

38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not realize that a great prince has fallen today in Israel? 39And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil!”

1 It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end. 2The evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

3 Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. 4So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. 5After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him.

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”

9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. 16Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

18 I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you will believe that I am He. 20Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”

21 After Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit and testified, “Truly, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.”

22 The disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant. 23One of His disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at His side. 24So Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus which one He was talking about. 25Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?”

26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him.

Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28But no one at the table knew why Jesus had said this to him. 29Since Judas kept the money bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast, or to give something to the poor. 30As soon as he had received the morsel, Judas went out into the night.