2 Samuel 2:7-9

Easy-to-Read Version

⁷Now be strong and brave. Your lord, Saul, is dead, but the tribe of Judah has anointed me to be their king.”

Ish Bosheth Becomes King

⁸Abner son of Ner was the captain of Saul’s army. Abner took Ish Bosheth^[a] son of Saul to Mahanaim ⁹and made him king of Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel.^[b]

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Footnotes

2 Samuel 2:8 Ish Bosheth In the ancient Greek version and 1 Chron. 8:33; 9:39, his name is Ish Baal or Eshbaal. Later Hebrew scribes substituted Bosheth (“shame”) for Baal (“Lord”), because Baal was also the name for a Canaanite god.
2 Samuel 2:9 Israel Sometimes this means the whole country, Judah and Israel. Here, it means only the tribes that were not united with Judah.