3:28 When David later heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the shed blood of Abner son of Ner! 3:29 May his blood whirl over ¹  the head of Joab and the entire house of his father! ²  May the males of Joab’s house ³  never cease to have ⁴  someone with a running sore or a skin disease or one who works at the spindle ⁵  or one who falls by the sword or one who lacks food!”

3:30 So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel in Gibeon during the battle.

3:31 David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes! Put on sackcloth! Lament before Abner!” Now King David followed ⁶  behind the funeral bier. 3:32 So they buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly ⁷  over Abner’s grave and all the people wept too. 3:33 The king chanted the following lament for Abner:

“Should Abner have died like a fool?

3:34 Your hands ⁸  were not bound,

and your feet were not put into irons.

You fell the way one falls before criminals.”

All the people ⁹  wept over him again. 3:35 Then all the people came and encouraged David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath saying, “God will punish me severely ¹⁰  if I taste bread or anything whatsoever before the sun sets!”

3:36 All the people noticed this and it pleased them. ¹¹  In fact, everything the king did pleased all the people. 3:37 All the people and all Israel realized on that day that the killing of Abner son of Ner was not done at the king’s instigation. ¹² 

3:38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not realize that a great leader ¹³  has fallen this day in Israel? 3:39 Today I am weak, even though I am anointed as king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too much for me to bear! ¹⁴  May the Lord punish appropriately the one who has done this evil thing!” ¹⁵