So Abner spoke again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground. ¹  How then could I show ²  my face in the presence of Joab your brother?”

Joab replied, “As surely as God lives, if you had not said this, it would have been morning before the people would have abandoned pursuit ¹  of their brothers!”

Then Joab blew the ram’s horn and all the people stopped in their tracks. ¹  They stopped chasing Israel and ceased fighting. ² 

They took Asahel’s body and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. ¹  Joab and his men then traveled all that night and reached Hebron by dawn.

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 

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.)

When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans. ¹ 

When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before his brother Abishai and went into the city. Joab withdrew from fighting the Ammonites and returned to ¹  Jerusalem. ² 

So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers ¹  were.

When the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, some of David’s soldiers ¹  fell in battle. Uriah the Hittite also died.

Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city. ¹ 

Then the king said to Joab, “All right! I ¹  will do this thing! Go and bring back the young man Absalom!

Then Absalom sent a message to Joab asking him to send him to the king, but Joab was not willing to come to him. So he sent a second message to him, but he still was not willing to come.

Then Joab got up and came to Absalom’s house. He said to him, “Why did your servants set my portion of field on fire?”

Joab replied, “I will not wait around like this for you!” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the middle of Absalom while he was still alive in the middle of the oak tree. ¹ 

So Joab’s men, accompanied by the Kerethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors, left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.

Once he had removed Amasa ¹  from the path, everyone followed Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.

a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen up! Listen up! Tell Joab, ‘Come near so that I may speak to you.’”

When he approached her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” He replied, “I am.” She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family, ¹  and his dynasty.” ²