20. Then Abner looked behind him and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, Yes.
21. Then Abner said to him, Turn aside to thy right hand or to thy left and lay hold on one of the young men and take his spoil. But Asahel would not turn aside from following after him.
22. And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn aside from following me; why should I smite thee to the ground? How then should I hold up my face to Joab, thy brother?
23. Howbeit he refused to turn aside; therefore, Abner with the butt end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib that the spear came out behind him, and he fell down there and died in the same place. And it came to pass that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.
24. But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
25. And the sons of Benjamin gathered themselves together in one troop with Abner and stood on the top of a hill.
26. Then Abner called to Joab and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? Dost thou not know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be then before thou bid the people to return from following their brethren?
27. And Joab replied, As God lives, if thou had not spoken, surely from this morning the people would have left off from following their brothers.
28. So Joab blew the shofar, and all the people stood still and no longer pursued after Israel, neither did they fight any more.
29. And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passing the Jordan, they went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.
30. Joab also returned from following Abner, and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David’s slaves nineteen men and Asahel.
31. But the slaves of David had smitten of Benjamin and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and sixty men died.
32. And they took up Asahel and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at the break of day.