Abner sought to bring the fighting to an end. He argued that if Joab continued the hunt it would have resulted in another bitter tragedy similar to what had happened before (see Judges 21:2–3).1 Killing of brothers causes grief and is not something that must be continued.
26 Then Abner called to Joab, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?”