3:24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner 1 has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way! 2 3:25 You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return 3 and to discover everything that you are doing!”
3:26 Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well of Sirah. (But David was not aware of it.) 3:27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him 4 in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel. 5
1 tn Heb “Look, Abner.”
2 tc The LXX adds “in peace.”
3 tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The expression is a merism. It specifically mentions the polar extremities of the actions but includes all activity in between the extremities as well, thus encompassing the entirety of one’s activities.
4 tn Heb “and he struck him down there [in] the stomach.”
5 tn Heb “and he [i.e., Abner] died on account of the blood of Asahel his [i.e., Joab’s] brother.”