2 Samuel 21
English Standard Version
David Avenges the Gibeonites
21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David (A)sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but (B)of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. 3 And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless (C)the heritage of the Lord?” 4 The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” 5 They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6 let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at (D)Gibeah of Saul, (E)the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of (F)the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 The king took the two sons of (G)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab[a] the daughter of Saul, whom (H)she bore to (I)Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, (J)at the beginning of barley harvest.
10 (K)Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. 11 When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, (L)who had stolen them from the public square of (M)Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in (N)Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that (O)God responded to the plea for the land.
War with the Philistines
15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants (P)of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels[b] of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, (Q)“You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench (R)the lamp of Israel.”
18 (S)After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then (T)Sibbecai (U)the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants (V)of the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and (W)Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, (X)the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.[c] 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, and he also was descended (Y)from the giants. 21 And when (Z)he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended (AA)from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 21:8 Two Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts Michal
- 2 Samuel 21:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- 2 Samuel 21:19 Contrast 1 Chronicles 20:5, which may preserve the original reading
2 Samuel 21
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Justice for the Gibeonites
21 During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired of the Lord. The Lord answered, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family when he killed the Gibeonites.”
2 The Gibeonites were not Israelites but rather a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them,(A) but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah. So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. 3 He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on[a] the Lord’s inheritance?”
4 The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for money from[b] Saul or his family,(B) and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel.”(C)
“Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said.
5 They replied to the king, “As for the man who annihilated us and plotted to destroy us so we would not exist within the whole territory of Israel, 6 let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang[c] them in the presence of the Lord(D) at Gibeah of Saul,(E) the Lord’s chosen.”(F)
The king answered, “I will hand them over.”
7 David spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between David and Jonathan, Saul’s son.(G) 8 But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, who were the two sons whom Rizpah(H) daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, and the five sons whom Merab[d](I) daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite 9 and handed them over to the Gibeonites. They hanged[e] them on the hill in the presence of the Lord; the seven of them died together. They were executed in the first days of the harvest at the beginning of the barley harvest.[f]
The Burial of Saul’s Family
10 Rizpah, Aiah’s daughter, took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest[g] until the rain poured down from heaven on the bodies. She kept the birds of the sky from them by day and the wild animals by night.
11 When it was reported to David what Saul’s concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, had done, 12 he went and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the leaders of Jabesh-gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa.(J) 13 David had the bones brought from there. They gathered up the bones of Saul’s family who had been hung[h] 14 and buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan at Zela in the land of Benjamin in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. They did everything the king commanded. After this, God answered prayer for the land.(K)
The Philistine Giants
15 The Philistines again waged war against Israel. David went down with his soldiers, and they fought the Philistines, but David became exhausted. 16 Then Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giant,[i] whose bronze spear weighed about eight pounds[j] and who wore new armor, intended to kill David. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him: “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”(L)
18 After this,(M) there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giant.[k]
19 Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed[l] Goliath the Gittite. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam.(N)
20 At Gath there was still another battle. A huge man was there with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—24 in all. He, too, was descended from the giant.[m] 21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him.
22 These four were descended from the giant[n] in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 21:3 Lit will bless
- 2 Samuel 21:4 Lit “Not for us silver and gold with
- 2 Samuel 21:6 Or impale, or expose
- 2 Samuel 21:8 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Tg; other Hb mss read Michal
- 2 Samuel 21:9 Or impaled, or exposed
- 2 Samuel 21:9 = March–April
- 2 Samuel 21:10 = April to October
- 2 Samuel 21:13 Or impaled, or exposed
- 2 Samuel 21:16 Or Raphah
- 2 Samuel 21:16 Lit 300 (shekels)
- 2 Samuel 21:18 Or Raphah
- 2 Samuel 21:19 1Ch 20:5 adds the brother of
- 2 Samuel 21:20 Or Raphah
- 2 Samuel 21:22 Or Raphah
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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