And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.

And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plains: and they passed the Jordan, and having gone through all Beth-horon, came to the camp.

And Abner and his men have gone through the plain all that night, and pass over the Jordan, and go on through all Bithron, and come in to Mahanaim.

Then Abner and his men went away, all that night, through the plains. And they crossed the Jordan, and having roamed throughout all of Beth-horon, they arrived in the camp.

Through the plain - See 1-Samuel 23:24. Bithron is unknown. From the expression all (the) Bithron, it seems likely that it is a tract of country, intersected by ravines lying on the east side of Jordan.

They came to Mahanaim - So they returned to the place whence they set out. See 2-Samuel 2:12. This was the commencement of the civil wars between Israel and Judah, and properly the commencement of the division of the two kingdoms, through which both nations were deluged with blood.

And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain,.... The plain of Jordan. He marched with his men all night, lest Joab should return, and pursue him, and take vengeance on him for the death of his brother:
and passed over Jordan; at one of the fords of it:
and went through all Bithron; the name of a province or country, as Jarchi, called so perhaps from its being separated from the rest of the tribes of Israel by the river Jordan; some think the mountains of Bether were in this country, Song 2:17. From Gibeon, where the battle was fought, to Bithron, according to Bunting (o), was twenty eight miles, the which he says was in the tribe of Gad, twenty eight miles from Jerusalem northeastward, lying between Dibon and Jordan:
and they came to Mahanaim: from whence they came, and where they had left Ishbosheth, 2-Samuel 2:8. From Bithron to this place, according to the same writer (p), was sixteen miles.
(o) Travels, &c. p. 145, 146. (p) Ibid.

Abner proceeded with his troops through the Arabah, i.e., the valley of the Jordan, marching the whole night; and then crossing the river, went through the whole of Bithron back to Mahanaim. Bithron is a district upon the eastern side of the Jordan, which is only mentioned here. Aquila and the Vulgate identify it with Bethhoron; but there is no more foundation for this than for the suggestion of Thenius, that it is the same place as Bethharam, the later Libias, at the mouth of the Nahr Hesbn (see at Numbers 32:36). It is very evident that Bithron is not the name of a city, but of a district, from the fact that it is preceded by the word all, which would be perfectly unmeaning in the case of a city. The meaning of the word is a cutting; and it was no doubt the name given to some ravine in the neighbourhood of the Jabbok, between the Jordan and Mahanaim, which was on the north side of the Jabbok.