8. Abner was very angry at what Ishbosheth had said, and he told Ishbosheth:Am I some kind of worthless dog from Judah? I've always been loyal to your father's family and to his relatives and friends. I haven't turned you over to David. And yet you talk to me as if I've committed a crime with this woman.
9. I ask God to punish me if I don't help David get what the Lord promised him!
10. God said that he wouldn't let anyone in Saul's family ever be king again and that David would be king instead. He also said that David would rule both Israel and Judah, all the way from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.
11. Ishbosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not even answer.
12. Abner sent some of his men to David with this message: “You should be the ruler of the whole nation. If you make an agreement with me, I will persuade everyone in Israel to make you their king.”
13. David sent this message back: “Good! I'll make an agreement with you. But before I will even talk with you about it, you must get Saul's daughter Michal back for me.”
14. David sent a few of his officials to Ishbosheth to give him this message: “Give me back my wife Michal! I killed a hundred Philistines so I could marry her.”