Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close EHV

2 Samuel 21
Evangelical Heritage Version

The Famine

21 There was a famine in the days of David for three years in a row.

David sought the favor[a] of the Lord, and the Lord said, “There is blood guilt on Saul and on his house because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 So the king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them.

(The Gibeonites were not related to the people of Israel, but they were a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had given them a sworn promise, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)

3 David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How will I make atonement[b] to you so you will bless the heritage of the Lord?”

4 The Gibeonites said to him, “The issue between us and Saul and his house cannot be settled with silver and gold. Nor is it up to us to put anyone in Israel to death.”

So David said, “Well then, what are you saying I should do for you?”

5 They said to the king, “From the man who consumed us and who planned to destroy us so that we would have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6 we ask you to give us seven of his male descendants. Allow us to hang them up before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was the chosen of the Lord.”

The king said, “I will grant it.”

7 The king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul. 8 The king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Saul to whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had given birth, and the five sons of Merab,[c] the daughter of Saul, to whom she gave birth for Adriel son of Barzillai, the Meholathite. 9 David handed them over to the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord. The seven of them died together. They were put to death in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest.

10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself near the rock. From the beginning of the grain harvest until rain started falling on them from the sky,[d] she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day nor the wild animals by night. 11 David was informed about what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12 So David went and got the bones of Saul and the bones of Saul’s son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day when the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa. 13 He brought the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from there. They also gathered the bones of the men who had been hanged. 14 Then they buried the bones of Saul and Saul’s son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin at Zela in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father. They did everything the king commanded. After that, God responded to the prayers for the land.

Battles With the Philistine Giants

15 War occurred again between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his troops and fought against the Philistines. David became very tired. 16 Ishbi Benob was one of the descendants of Rapha the giant.[e] His bronze spear weighed more than seven pounds,[f] and he was equipped with a new weapon. He said that he was going to kill David. 17 Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s aid. He attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You are not to go out to battle with us anymore, so that you do not put out the lamp of Israel.”

18 After this, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, in which Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was also descended from Rapha the giant.

19 There was yet another battle with the Philistines at Gob. Elhanan son of Jair, the Bethlehemite, killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite,[g] whose spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam.

20 There was war again in Gath. There was a very tall man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha the giant. 21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah,[h] the brother of David, killed him. 22 These four were descended from Rapha the giant in Gath. They fell at the hand of David and his servants.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 21:1 Literally face
  2. 2 Samuel 21:3 Or pay a ransom
  3. 2 Samuel 21:8 The translation follows a few Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. The Hebrew here reads Michal, but other texts of Scripture say that Michal had no children and that these were children of Merab. See 1 Samuel 18:19.
  4. 2 Samuel 21:10 Probably from the grain harvest in spring until the early rain in fall.
  5. 2 Samuel 21:16 Literally the Rapha. Rapha was the ancestor of a group of very tall men who lived among the Philistines. They are called the Rephaim, and the valley where some of these battles were fought was named after them.
  6. 2 Samuel 21:16 Hebrew three hundred shekels
  7. 2 Samuel 21:19 The Hebrew text here reads Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite. This reading does not agree with the account of David killing Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. The translation above follows the reading of the parallel text in 1 Chronicles 20:5.
  8. 2 Samuel 21:21 There are several different Hebrew spellings of the name of this brother of David, also known as Shimea, Shimei, and Shammah. Such inconsistency in the spelling of personal names is common.
Close LEB

2 Samuel 21
Lexham English Bible

The Famine Brings Justice

21 There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David inquired of Yahweh,[a] and Yahweh said, “The bloodguilt is on Saul and on his household, because he killed the Gibeonites.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not from the Israelites;[b] they were from the remainder of the Amorites. Now the Israelites[c] had sworn to them,[d] but Saul tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the Israelites[e] and Judah. 3 So David asked the Gibeonites, “What can I do for you, and with what can I make amends that you may bless the inheritance of Yahweh?” 4 Then the Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter for us of[f] silver or gold with Saul or with his household. It is not for us to put to death anyone in Israel.” He asked, “What are you saying that I should do for you all?” 5 Then they said to the king, “The man who consumed us and who plotted against us so that we were destroyed from existing in all of the territory of Israel, 6 let seven men from his sons be given over to us, and we will execute them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of Yahweh.” Then the king said, “I will give them over.” 7 But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the sworn oath of Yahweh which was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 So the king took two of the sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, namely Armoni and Mephibosheth, and five of the sons of Michal the daughter of Saul whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. 9 He gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they executed them on the mountain in the presence of Yahweh, and the seven fell together. Now they were put to death in the days of the harvest, at the beginning of the harvest of barley.

10 Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took the sackcloth, and she spread it for herself on the rock at the beginning of the harvest until water gushed forth on them from heaven, but she did not allow the birds of heaven to rest on them by day nor the animals of the field by night. 11 David was told about what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12 So David left and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the rulers of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where the Philistines hung them when[g] the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of the executed. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They did all that the king had commanded, and afterward God was entreated for the land.

Battles with the Philistines Recounted

15 There was war again for the Philistines with Israel, and David and his servants with him went down, and they fought the Philistines, and David grew weary. 16 Now Yishbi in Nob, who was among the descendents of Raphah[h] (now the weight of his spearhead was three hundredweight of bronze, and he was newly armed), said that he would kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and he attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall not go out with us any longer to the battle, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel.”

18 It happened afterward that there was again battle at Gob with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph who was among the descendants of the Raphah.

19 There was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. And Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath[i] the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like the beam of a weaver.

20 Once again there was battle at Gath, and there was a man of great size.[j] The fingers of his hand and the toes of his feet were six and six, twenty-four in number. He was also born to the Raphah. 21 He taunted Israel but Jonathan the son of Shimei, the brother of David, killed him. 22 These four were born for the Raphah in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 21:1 Literally “sought the face of Yahweh”
  2. 2 Samuel 21:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. 2 Samuel 21:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  4. 2 Samuel 21:2 The treaty between Israel and the Gibeonites is found in Josh 9
  5. 2 Samuel 21:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  6. 2 Samuel 21:4 Literally “There is not for me (Qere ‘us’)”
  7. 2 Samuel 21:12 Literally “on the day”
  8. 2 Samuel 21:16 The descendants of Raphah (i.e., the Rephaim) were thought to be giants
  9. 2 Samuel 21:19 In view of the account of David and Goliath in 1 Sam 17, it is likely that Elhanan actually killed the brother of Goliath, Lahmi, in 1 Chr 20:5
  10. 2 Samuel 21:20 Literally “a man of measurement”
Next
2 Samuel 20
2 Samuel 22
Next
dropdown
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software