Bible in Basic English
And they put Abner's body to rest in Hebron; and the king and all the people were weeping loudly by the resting-place of Abner's body.
And the king made a song of grief for Abner and said, Was the death of Abner to be like the death of a foolish man?
Your hands were free, your feet were not chained: like the downfall of a man before evil men, so was your fall. And the weeping of the people over him went on again.
And the people came to make David take food, while it was still day, but David with an oath said, May God's punishment be on me if I take a taste of bread or any other thing till the sun has gone down!
And all the people took note of it and were pleased: like everything the king did, it was pleasing to the people.
So it was clear to Israel and to all the people on that day that the king was not responsible for the death of Abner, the son of Ner.
And the king said to his servants, Do you not see that a chief and a great man has come to his end today in Israel?
While I, though I am crowned king, have little strength, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are out of my control: may the Lord give to the evil-doer the reward of his evil-doing!
— 2 Samuel 3:32-1964, Bible in Basic English
“And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept. And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him. And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down. And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness. ”
“And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept. And the king lamented for Abner, and said, Should Abner die as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: As a man falleth before the children of iniquity, so didst thou fall. And all the people wept again over him. And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David sware, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or aught else, till the sun be down. And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me: Jehovah reward the evil-doer according to his wickedness. ”
“They buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept. The king lamented for Abner, and said, "Should Abner die as a fool dies? Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put into fetters. As a man falls before the children of iniquity, so you fell." All the people wept again over him. All the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, "God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun goes down." All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; as whatever the king did pleased all the people. So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to kill Abner the son of Ner. The king said to his servants, "Don't you know that there a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May Yahweh reward the evildoer according to his wickedness."”
May it come on the head of Joab and all his father's family: among the men of Joab's family may there ever be some who are diseased or lepers, or who do the work of women, or are put to the sword, or are wasted from need of food!
So Joab and Abishai his brother put Abner to death, because he had put to death their brother Asahel in the fight at Gibeon.
And David said to Joab and all the people who were with him, Go in grief and put haircloth about you, in sorrow for Abner. And King David went after the dead body.
And they put Abner's body to rest in Hebron; and the king and all the people were weeping loudly by the resting-place of Abner's body.
And the king made a song of grief for Abner and said, Was the death of Abner to be like the death of a foolish man?
Your hands were free, your feet were not chained: like the downfall of a man before evil men, so was your fall. And the weeping of the people over him went on again.
And the people came to make David take food, while it was still day, but David with an oath said, May God's punishment be on me if I take a taste of bread or any other thing till the sun has gone down!
And all the people took note of it and were pleased: like everything the king did, it was pleasing to the people.
So it was clear to Israel and to all the people on that day that the king was not responsible for the death of Abner, the son of Ner.
And the king said to his servants, Do you not see that a chief and a great man has come to his end today in Israel?
While I, though I am crowned king, have little strength, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are out of my control: may the Lord give to the evil-doer the reward of his evil-doing!