2 Samuel 21
21
1 THERE WAS a three-year famine in the days of David, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord replied, It is on account of Saul and his bloody house, for he put to death the Gibeonites.
2 So the king called the Gibeonites–now the Gibeonites were not Israelites but of the remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah had sought to slay the Gibeonites–
3 So David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? How can I make atonement that you may bless the Lord's inheritance?
4 The Gibeonites said to him, We will accept no silver or gold of Saul or of his house; neither for us shall you kill any man in Israel. David said, I will do for you what you say.
5 They said to the king, The man who consumed us and planned to prevent us from remaining in any territory of Israel,
6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered to us and we will hang them up before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, [on the mountain] of the Lord. And the king said, I will give them.
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of [Merab] daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
9 He delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hung them up on the hill before the Lord, and all seven perished together. They were put to death in the first days of barley harvest.
10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them, and she did not allow either the birds of the air to come upon them by day or the beasts of the field by night.
11 It was told David what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa.
13 He brought from there the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of those who were hung up.
14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son they buried in the country of Benjamin in Zelah in the tomb of Kish, [Saul's] father, and they did all that the king commanded. And after that, God heard and answered when His people prayed for the land.
15 The Philistines had war again with Israel. And David went down and his servants with him and fought against the Philistines, and David became faint.
16 Ishbi-benob, who was of the sons of the giants, the weight of whose spear was 300 shekels of bronze, was girded with a new sword, and thought to kill David.
17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's aid, and smote and killed the Philistine. Then David's men charged him, You shall no more go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.
18 After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob (Gezer). Then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Saph (Sippai), who was a descendant of the giant.
19 There was again war at Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam.
20 And there was again 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; he also was a descendant of the giants.
21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan son of Shimei, brother of David, slew him.
22 These four were descended from the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hands of David and his servants.
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2 Samuel 21: AMPC
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2 Samuel 21
21
Saul’s Family Punished
1While David was king, there was a famine that continued for three years. So David prayed to the Lord. And the Lord answered, “Saul and his family of murderers#21:1 family of murderers Literally, “house of blood.” are the reason for the famine, because he killed the Gibeonites.” 2(The Gibeonites were not Israelites. They were a group of Amorites. The Israelites had promised not to hurt them,#21:2 The Israelites … them This happened in Joshua’s time when the Gibeonites tricked the Israelites. Read Josh. 9:3-15. but Saul tried to kill the Gibeonites. He did this because of his strong feelings for the people of Israel and Judah.)
King David called the Gibeonites together and talked to them. 3David said to the Gibeonites, “What can I do for you? What can I do to take away Israel’s sin, so that you can bless the Lord’s people?”
4The Gibeonites said to David, “There isn’t enough gold and silver for Saul’s family to pay for what they did. But we don’t have the right to kill anyone else in Israel.”
David said, “Well, what can I do for you?”
5The Gibeonites said to King David, “The person who plotted against us was Saul. He is the one who tried to destroy all our people living in the land of Israel. 6Give us seven of Saul’s sons. Saul was the Lord’s chosen king,#21:6 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.” so we will hang his sons in front of the Lord on Mount Gibeah of Saul.”
King David said, “All right, I will give them to you.” 7But the king protected Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. Jonathan was Saul’s son, and David had made a promise in the Lord’s name to Jonathan.#21:7 David had made … to Jonathan David and Jonathan promised each other they would not harm each other’s families. Read 1 Sam. 20:12-23, 42. So the king did not let them hurt Mephibosheth. 8David gave them Armoni and Mephibosheth.#21:8 Mephibosheth This is another man named Mephibosheth, not Jonathan’s son. These were the sons of Saul and Rizpah. Saul also had a daughter named Merab who was married to Adriel son of Barzillai, from Meholah. David took the five sons of Merab and Adriel. 9David gave these seven men to the Gibeonites who then brought them to Mount Gibeah and hanged them in front of the Lord. Those seven men died together in the spring, during the first days of the barley harvest.
David and Rizpah
10Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took a mourning cloth and put it on the rock.#21:10 rock This might be the Big Rock at Gibeon (read 2 Sam. 20:8), the rock that the bodies were lying on, or a rock that marked the place where her sons were buried. That cloth stayed on the rock from the time the harvest began until the rains came. Rizpah watched the bodies day and night. She protected them from the wild birds during the day and the wild animals at night.
11People told David what Saul’s slave woman Rizpah was doing. 12Then David took the bones of Saul and Jonathan from the men of Jabesh Gilead. (The men of Jabesh Gilead got these bones after Saul and Jonathan were killed at Gilboa. The Philistines had hanged the bodies of Saul and Jonathan on a wall in Beth Shan.#21:12 Beth Shan Or possibly, “Beth Shean.” But the men of Jabesh Gilead went there and stole the bodies from that public area.) 13David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from Jabesh Gilead and buried them with the bodies of the seven men who were hanged. 14They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the area of Benjamin, in one of the tunnels in the grave of Saul’s father Kish, as the king commanded. After that God again listened to the prayers of the people in that land.
War With the Philistines
15The Philistines started another war with Israel. David and his men went out to fight the Philistines, but David became very tired and weak. 16Ishbi-Benob was one of the giants.#21:16 one of the giants Or “a son of Rapha (Rephaim).” Also in verses 18, 20, 22. His spear weighed over 7 pounds.#21:16 over 7 pounds Literally, “300 shekels of bronze” (3.45 kg). He put on new armor and thought he would be able to kill David. 17But Abishai son of Zeruiah killed this giant Philistine and saved David’s life.
Then David’s men made him promise that he would not go out to battle anymore. They said, “If you do, Israel might lose its brightest leader.”
18Later, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, another one of the giants.
19Later, there was another battle at Gob against the Philistines. Elhanan the son of Jaare Oregim from Bethlehem killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath from Gath.#21:19 Lahmi … Gath See 1 Chron. 20:5. His spear was as big as a post.#21:19 post Literally, “a weaver’s rod,” the large beam across a loom.
20There was another battle at Gath. There was a very large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He had 24 fingers and toes in all. This man was also one of the giants. 21This man challenged Israel and made fun of them, but Jonathan killed this man. (This was Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimei.)
22All four of these men were giants from Gath. They were killed by David and his men.
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