Quotes About Conflict

“But what have I done?” David replied. “What have you found against your servant, from the day I came to you until today, to keep me from going along to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ëHe must not go into battle with us.í

We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”

And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.”

Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saulís army, took Saulís son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,

Saulís son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David.

One day Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

So Joab son of Zeruiah, along with the servants of David, marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two camps took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.

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

So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.

Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponentís side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim.

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

And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” Asahel replied.

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.

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?”

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.

But 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.

Then 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?”

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

When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of Davidís servants were missing,

but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner.

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.

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.

Meanwhile, Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my fatherís concubine?”