II Samuel 21
21
David Avenges the Gibeonites
1Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David #2 Sam. 8:18inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” 2So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but #Num. 27:21; 2 Sam. 5:19of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them #Josh. 9:3, 15–20in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
3Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless #(Ex. 34:11–16)the inheritance of the Lord?”
4And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.”
So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
5Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, 6let seven men of his descendants be delivered #1 Sam. 26:19; 2 Sam. 20:19to us, and we will hang them before the Lord #Num. 25:4in Gibeah of Saul, #1 Sam. 10:26whom the Lord chose.”
And the king said, “I will give them.”
7But the king spared #1 Sam. 10:24; (Hos. 13:11)Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of #2 Sam. 4:4; 9:10the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of #1 Sam. 18:3; 20:12–17; 23:18; 2 Sam. 9:1–7Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill #2 Sam. 3:7before the Lord. So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
10Now #2 Sam. 6:17Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, #2 Sam. 3:7; 21:8from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.
11And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of #Deut. 21:23Jabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan, where the #1 Sam. 31:11–13Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa. 13So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. 14They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in #1 Sam. 31:8Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that #Josh. 18:28God heeded the prayer for the land.
Philistine Giants Destroyed
15When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 16Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the #Josh. 7:26; 2 Sam. 24:25giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17But #Num. 13:22, 28; Josh. 15:14; 2 Sam. 21:18–22Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, #2 Sam. 20:6–10“You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the #2 Sam. 18:3lamp of Israel.”
18#2 Sam. 22:29; 1 Kin. 11:36Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then #1 Chr. 20:4–8Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant. 19Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where #1 Chr. 11:29; 27:11Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed #2 Sam. 23:24the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
20Yet again #1 Sam. 17:4; 1 Chr. 20:5there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant. 21So when he #1 Chr. 20:6defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.
22#1 Sam. 17:10These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
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II Samuel 21: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
2 Samuel 21
21
Saul's Descendants are Put to Death
1During David's reign there was a severe famine which lasted for three full years. So David consulted the LORD about it, and the LORD said, “Saul and his family are guilty of murder; he put the people of Gibeon to death.” 2#Josh 9.3–15(The people of Gibeon were not Israelites; they were a small group of Amorites whom the Israelites had promised to protect, but Saul had tried to destroy them because of his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.) 3So David summoned the people of Gibeon and said to them, “What can I do for you? I want to make up for the wrong that was done to you, so that you will bless the LORD's people.”
4They answered, “Our quarrel with Saul and his family can't be settled with silver or gold, nor do we want to kill any Israelite.”
“What, then, do you think I should do for you?” David asked.
5They answered, “Saul wanted to destroy us and leave none of us alive anywhere in Israel. 6So hand over seven of his male descendants, and we will hang them before the LORD at Gibeah, the town of Saul, the LORD's chosen king.”
“I will hand them over,” the king answered.
7 #
1 Sam 20.15–17; 2 Sam 9.1–7 But because of the sacred promise that he and Jonathan had made to each other, David spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul. 8#1 Sam 18.19However, he took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah the daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul; he also took the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai, who was from Meholah. 9David handed them over to the people of Gibeon, who hanged them on the mountain before the LORD — and all seven of them died together. It was late in the spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest, when they were put to death.
10Then Saul's concubine Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, used sackcloth to make a shelter for herself on the rock where the corpses were, and she stayed there from the beginning of harvest until the autumn rains came. During the day she would keep the birds away from the corpses, and at night she would protect them from wild animals.
11When David heard what Rizpah had done, 12#1 Sam 31.8–13he went and got the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the people of Jabesh in Gilead. (They had stolen them from the public square in Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hanged the bodies on the day they killed Saul on Mount Gilboa.) 13David took the bones of Saul and Jonathan and also gathered up the bones of the seven men who had been hanged. 14Then they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan in the grave of Saul's father Kish, in Zela in the territory of Benjamin, doing all that the king had commanded. And after that, God answered their prayers for the country.
Battles against Philistine Giants
(1 Chr 20.4–8)
15There was another war between the Philistines and Israel, and David and his men went and fought the Philistines. During one of the battles David grew tired. 16A giant named Ishbibenob, who was carrying a bronze spear that weighed about 3.5 kilogrammes and who was wearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17#1 Kgs 11.36; Ps 132.17But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's help, attacked the giant, and killed him. Then David's men made David promise that he would never again go out with them to battle. “You are the hope of Israel, and we don't want to lose you,” they said.
18After this there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, during which Sibbecai from Hushah killed a giant named Saph.
19There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jair#21.19 Probable text (see 1 Chr 20.5) Jair; Hebrew Jaareoregim. from Bethlehem killed Goliath from Gath, whose spear had a shaft as thick as the bar on a weaver's loom.
20Then there was another battle at Gath, where there was a giant who loved to fight. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. 21He defied the Israelites, and Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shammah, killed him.
22These four were descendants of the giants of Gath, and they were killed by David and his men.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.