16. They grabbed each other by the hair and stabbed each other in the side with their daggers. They all died there! That's why the place in Gibeon is called “Field of Daggers”.
17. Then everyone started fighting. Both sides fought very hard, but David's soldiers defeated Abner and the soldiers of Israel.
18. Zeruiah's three sons were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel could run as fast as a deer in an open field,
19. and he ran straight after Abner, without looking to the right or to the left.
20. When Abner turned and saw him, he said, “Is that you, Asahel?”Asahel answered, “Yes it is.”
21. Abner said, “There are soldiers all around. Stop chasing me and fight one of them! Kill him and take his clothes and weapons for yourself.”But Asahel refused to stop.
22. Abner said, “If you don't turn back, I'll have to kill you! Then I could never face your brother Joab again.”
23. But Asahel would not turn back, so Abner struck him in the stomach with the back end of his spear. The spear went all the way through and came out of his back. Asahel fell down and died. Everyone who saw Asahel lying dead just stopped and stood still.
24. But Joab and Abishai went after Abner. Finally, about sunset, they came to the hill of Ammah, not far from Giah on the road to Gibeon Desert.
25. Abner brought the men of Benjamin together in one group on top of a hill, and they got ready to fight.
26. Abner shouted to Joab, “Aren't we ever going to stop killing each other? Don't you know that the longer we keep on doing this, the worse it's going to be when it's all over? When are you going to order your men to stop chasing their own relatives?”
27. Joab shouted back, “I swear by the living God, if you hadn't spoken, my men would have chased their relatives all night!”
28. Joab took his trumpet and blew the signal for his soldiers to stop chasing the soldiers of Israel. Straight away, the fighting stopped.
29. Abner and his troops marched through the Jordan Valley all that night. Then they crossed the river and marched all morning until they arrived back at Mahanaim.
30. As soon as Joab stopped chasing Abner, he got David's troops together and counted them. There were nineteen missing besides Asahel.
31. But David's soldiers had killed 360 of Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin.
32. Joab and his troops carried Asahel's body to Bethlehem and buried him in the family burial place. Then they marched all night and reached Hebron before sunrise.