1 Ngwa pakati kwe nsha wa Saulo ne nsha wa Dafite yakatola tjibaka tjilefu, ngono Dafite esimila mbeli, simba le nsha wa Saulo likatapudzika.
Bakololo ba Dafite
2 Aba ndibo bakololo ba Dafite baakazwaligwa ku Heburoni: Mbano iye ndi Amunoni mmeyabe bali Ahinoami be Njezerele, 3 we bubili ndi Khileyabu mmeyabe bali Abigaile tjilikadzi ya Nabali we N'karimeli, we butatu ndi Abusalomu nkololo wa Maaka nkololokadzi wa Talimayi mambo we Geshuri, 4 we bunna ndi Adonija mmeyabe bali Hagiti, we bushanu ali Shefatiya iye mmeyabe bali Abitali, 5 we butathatu ndi Itiremu we nkadzi wa Dafite Egila. Ibaba ndibo bakazwaligwa Dafite mu Heburoni.
Abineri unozwibhatshanya na Dafite
6 Ngwa yakati yakalobana pakati kwe nsha wa Saulo ne wa Dafite, Abineri wakabe esimisa mamo awe mu nsha wa Saulo. 7 Ipapo Saulo wakabe ana mmwe nkadzi ntukunu zina lile liyi Rizipa nkololokadzi wa Aiya. Ngono Ishibosheti kati kuna Abineri, “Ini wawalilana ne nkadzi wa tate bangu kene?” 8 Abineri kazhala bushongola ngekwe matama a Ishibosheti ngono kabe eti, “Apa ndi nsholo we mbgwa ye Juda kene? Nasi ndothamila lubu be nsha wa tate babo Saulo ne hama dzidze ne bazwalani babe, kakale nawe andizokulonga mu maboko a Dafite, ngono unonditilika nlandu ngekwe nkadzi iwoyu. 9 Atshene Ndzimu ungathamila Abineri saikoko ne kupinda ha ndisingake athamila Dafite tjaakagadziwabgwe ndi Yahwe ngotuna, 10 kufulusa bushe kudwa mu nsha wa Saulo, nekubiga tjigalo tje bushe tja Dafite mu Iziraela ne mu Juda, kudwa mu Dani kunoti ku Bheerisheba.” 11 Ngono Ishibosheti kasidabile Abineri nge limwe dama, ngobe wakabe entja.
12 Ndizo Abineri katuma batumwa kuna Dafite kuti banombhuzwa bati, “Shango ngeyaani kene? Thama tjidumano tjitjo nami, ngono ndowokubhatsha kushandulila Iziraela yose ku kuli.” 13 Dafite kabe eti, “Kwakalulwama, ndowothama tjidumano nawe, koga ndokumbila tjithu tjing'ompela mukuli, aungabone buso gwangu kuzhe kwe ungati ha uzha kuwondibona ukazha na Mikhali nkololokadzi wa Saulo.” 14 Ipapo Dafite katuma batumwa kuna Ishibosheti nkololo wa Saulo kunon'dwa beti, “Undipe nkadzi wangu Mikhali wandakazwibigilidzila nge zwikanda zwa mbeli zwe Bafilisitiya zwili zana (100).” 15 Ndizo Ishibosheti kadusa ndaulo kuti atogwe mu nlume uwe Palitiele nkololo wa Laishi. 16 Ipapo nlume uwe kayenda naye, kantobela elila zila yose kunoti ku Bhahurimu. Ipapo Abineri kandwa kati, “Bgwilila kanyi!” Kabe ebgwilila.
17 Abineri kalebeleka ne batungamili be Iziraela kati, “Kwetjinga kwamakashaka Dafite kuti abe mambo wenyu, 18 ngono ngwenu mukushingikadze, ngobe Yahwe bakagadzabgwe Dafite beti, ‘Ndowoshingisa nlanda wangu Dafite kuangula bathu bangu Baiziraela mu luboko gwe Bafilisitiya ne mu zwita zwabo zose.’ ” 19 Abineri kalebeleka ne Babhenjamini njiso dzakalingisana, kabuya kayenda ku Heburoni kanobudza Dafite zose zwakabe Iziraela ne nsha wose wa Bhenjamini beshaka kuzwithama.
20 Kwakati Abineri eswika ne balume bali makumi mabili kuna Dafite ku Heburoni, Dafite kathamila Abineri ne balume baakabe anabo nzano. 21 Abineri kadwa Dafite kati, “Imani ndimilike ndinokubunganyila tetshi wangu Mambo Iziraela yose, kuti bathame tjidumano namwi, kuti ndizo mubuse kose kunowobe kuyemugwa nge moyo wenyu.” Ndizo Dafite kasunungula Abineri, ngono kayenda nge mbakiso.
Abineri unobulawa
22 Tjinyolotjo kukaswika babhayani ba Dafite bana Joabu bedwa kutapa, bezha ne thundu njinji. Koga Abineri wakabe asitjina Dafite mu Heburoni, ngobe Dafite wakabe ansunungula ayenda nge mbakiso. 23 Kwakati Joabu ne babhayani bose baakabe anabo beswika, Joabu kabudziwa kuti Abineri nkololo wa Neri wabe azha kuna mambo, ngono mambo bansunungula wayenda nge mbakiso. 24 Ipapo Joabu kayenda kuna mambo kabadwa kati, “Apa mathamani kene? Abineri wazha kumuli, hwutini mansunungula, titjowombona ngayi? 25 Moziba kuti Abineri nkololo wa Neri wabe azha kuwomutjengela, nekuti azibe njendo dzenyu abuye azibe zose zwamunoshinga.”
26 Kwakati Joabu edwa pana Dafite, katuma batumwa kulonda Abineri, ngono bakanshandusa pa tshima le Sira, koga Dafite kabe asinga zibe nge kwako. 27 Kwakati Abineri ashandusigwa ku Heburoni, Joabu kantolela ntome mukati kwe nkoba se unonolebeleka naye mu ikohwa, ikoko kambhaya mu ntumbu kafa, efila kutebula malopa a Asahele, nnung'una uwe. 28 Kwati shule ha Dafite ehwa nge kwako, kabe eti, “Imi ne mbuso wangu atina nlandu nge kusingapele mbeli kwa Yahwe, ngekwe malopa a Abineri nkololo wa Neri. 29 Nlandu ngauwile mu nsholo wa Joabu ne mu nsha wa tate babe wose, kakale mu nsha wa Joabu kusitongo shayika una mapele , kene una bugwele gwe ganda kene tjilema tjinodozola, kene unobulawa nge thumo, kene unosheta zojiwa!” 30 Ndizo Joabu ne nnung'una uwe Abishayi bakabulaya Abineri, ngobe akabulaya nnung'una wabo Asahele mu ngwa ku Gibiyoni.
Mbiganyo ya Abineri
31 Ipapo Dafite kadwa Joabu ne bathu bose baakabe anabo kati, “Palulani zwiambalo zwenyu, muambale jila le saka mulilile Abineri.” Mambo Dafite kasala shule kwe itumbu. 32 Bakabiganya Abineri ku Heburoni. Mambo bakamilidza hwi labo bakalila ku ikumbu tja Abineri, ne bathu bose bakalila. 33 Mambo bakashoba lumbo gwe tjililo tja Abineri beti,
“Apa Abineri ungafa se tjilengwe kene?
34 Maboko awo akabe asakasungwa
makumbo awo akabe asimu dziketani,
wakafa se nthu wabulawa nge zwigebenga!”
Ngono bathu bose bakanlilila kakale.
35 Ndizo kukazha bathu bose kukumbila Dafite kuti aje zojiwa kutji masikati, ngono Dafite katuna kati, “Ndzimu undilobe upaphulula andingaja zojiwa kene tjimwe koga zhuba lisathu likangina!” 36 Kukati bathu bose basinoziba ngekwako, kukabashathisa, se zwithu zose mambo zwabakathama zwishathisa bathu bose. 37 Ipapo bathu bose ne Iziraela yose bakaziba zhuba ilelo kuti mambo bakabe basina gobe mu lufu gwa Abineri nkololo wa Neri. 38 Ndizo mambo bakadwa balanda babo bakati, “Apa amutoziba kuti nkololo we bushe kakale ili nthu nkulukulu wafa nasi mu Iziraela? 39 Nasi andina simba, nakuto ndili mambo wakazhodziwa, balume ibaba, bakololo ba Zeruya, banondikulila. Yahwe ngababgwilizile nshingi we mbipo kuyendidzana nge mbipo iye.”
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.”