They appeared before David with the gory witness to their crime, saying, "Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed." But David, whose throne God Himself had established, and whom God had delivered from his adversaries, did not desire the aid of treachery to establish his power. He told these murderers of the doom visited upon him who boasted of slaying Saul. "How much more," he added, "when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? And David commanded his young men, and they slew them. . . . But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron."

De trådte frem for David og viste ham det blodige bevis på deres udåd med ordene: "Her er hovedet af Isjbosjet, din fjende Sauls søn, han, som stod dig efter livet; i dag har Herren givet min herre kongen hævn over Saul og hans afkom!" Men David var ikke interesseret i at styrke sin stilling ved forræderi. Hans rige var blevet grundlagt af Gud selv, og Gud havde reddet ham fra hans fjender. Han fortalte disse mordere, hvordan det var gået den mand, som pralede med, at han havde slået Saul ihjel. "Hvor meget mere," tilføjede han, "skulle jeg da ikke nu, når gudløse mænd har myrdet en retfærdig mand på hans leje i hans eget hus, kræve hans blod af Eder og udrydde Eder af Jorden!" Derpå bød David sine folk dræbe dem. ..... men Isjbosjets hoved tog de og jordede i Abners grav i Hebron."