2 Samuel 21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
David Avenges the Gibeonites
21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year, and David inquired of the Lord. 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 of the remnant of the Amorites; although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)(A) 3 David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make expiation, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?”(B) 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 anyone to death in Israel.” He said, “What do you say that I should do for you?”(C) 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,(D) 6 let seven of his sons be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the Lord at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord.”[a] The king said, “I will hand them over.”
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul.(E) 8 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[b] daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite;(F) 9 he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they impaled them on the mountain before the Lord. The seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.
10 Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it on a rock for herself, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them from the heavens; she did not allow the birds of the air to come on the bodies[c] by day or the wild animals by night.(G) 11 When David was told what Rizpah 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 people of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.(H) 13 He brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan, and they gathered the bones of those who had been impaled. 14 They buried the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of his father Kish; they did all that the king commanded. After that, God heeded supplications for the land.(I)
Exploits of David’s Men
15 The Philistines went to war again with Israel, and David went down together with his servants. They fought against the Philistines, and David grew weary. 16 Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze and who was fitted out with new weapons,[d] said he would kill David. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall not go out with us to battle any longer, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel.”(J)
18 After this a battle took place with the Philistines at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants.(K) 19 Then there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.(L) 20 There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great size who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; he, too, was descended from the giants.[e] 21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of David’s brother Shimei killed him. 22 These four were descended from the giants[f] in Gath; they fell by the hands of David and his servants.
2 Samuel 21
Complete Jewish Bible
21 In David’s time there was a famine that lasted three years, and David consulted Adonai. Adonai said, “It is because of Sha’ul and his bloodstained house, because he put to death the people of Giv‘on.” 2 The king summoned the Giv‘onim and said to them — these Giv‘onim were not part of the people of Isra’el but from the remnant of the Emori; and the people of Isra’el had sworn to them; but Sha’ul, in his zeal for the people of Isra’el and Y’hudah, had sought to exterminate them — 3 David said to the Giv‘onim, “What should I do for you? With what should I make atonement, so that you will be able to bless Adonai’s heritage?” 4 The Giv‘onim said to him, “Our dispute with Sha’ul can’t be resolved with silver or gold; and we don’t have the right to put anyone in Isra’el to death.” He said, “So, what do you say that I should do for you?” 5 They answered the king, “The man who ruined us, who schemed against us so that we would cease to exist anywhere in Isra’el’s territory — 6 have seven of his male descendants handed over to us, and we will put them to death by hanging before Adonai in Giv‘ah of Sha’ul, whom Adonai chose.” The king said, “I will hand them over.” 7 But the king spared M’fivoshet, the son of Y’honatan the son of Sha’ul, because of the oath before Adonai between David and Y’honatan the son of Sha’ul. 8 The king took the two sons of Ritzpah the daughter of Ayah, whom she bore to Sha’ul, Armoni and M’fivoshet; and the five sons of Mikhal the daughter of Sha’ul, whom she bore to Adri’el the son of Barzillai the Mecholati; 9 and handed them over to the Giv‘onim, who hanged them on the hill before Adonai. All seven died; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest season, at the beginning of the barley harvest. 10 Ritzpah the daughter of Ayah took sackcloth, spread it out toward a cliff for herself and stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until water was poured out on the bodies from the sky, not letting the birds land on them during the day or the wild animals at night.
11 David was told what Ritzpah the daughter of Ayah, the concubine of Sha’ul, had done. 12 So David went and took the bones of Sha’ul and the bones of Y’honatan his son from the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad, who had stolen them from the open square of Beit-Sh’an, where the P’lishtim had hanged them at the time the P’lishtim had killed Sha’ul at Gilboa; 13 and he brought up from there the bones of Sha’ul and the bones of Y’honatan his son. They also gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. 14 Then they buried the bones of Sha’ul and Y’honatan his son in the territory of Binyamin in Tzela, in the tomb of Kish his father; they did everything the king ordered. Only after that was God prevailed on to show mercy to the land.
15 Once again the P’lishtim made war on Isra’el. David went down with his servants and fought against the P’lishtim, but David began to get tired. 16 Yishbi-B’nov, one of the sons of the giant, said that he would kill David; his spear weighed seven pounds, and he was wearing new armor. 17 But Avishai the son of Tz’ruyah came to David’s rescue by striking the P’lishti and killing him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must no longer go out with us to battle, in order not to quench the lamp of Isra’el.” 18 A while after this there was again war with the P’lishtim, at Gov. Sibkhai the Hushati killed Saf, one of the sons of the giant. 19 There was more war with the P’lishtim at Gov; and Elchanan the son of Ya‘arei-Orgim, the Beit-Lachmi, killed Golyat the Gitti, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s beam. 20 There was again war at Gat, where there was a belligerent man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot — twenty-four in all — and he too was a son of the giant. 21 When he mocked Isra’el, Y’honatan the son of Shim‘ah David’s brother killed him. 22 These four were sons of the giant in Gat; they fell at the hands of David and his servants.
2 Samuel 21
The Message
Famine and War
21 There was a famine in David’s time. It went on year after year after year—three years. David went to God seeking the reason.
God said, “This is because there is blood on Saul and his house, from the time he massacred the Gibeonites.”
2 So the king called the Gibeonites together for consultation. (The Gibeonites were not part of Israel; they were what was left of the Amorites, and protected by a treaty with Israel. But Saul, a fanatic for the honor of Israel and Judah, tried to kill them off.)
3 David addressed the Gibeonites: “What can I do for you? How can I compensate you so that you will bless God’s legacy of land and people?”
4 The Gibeonites replied, “We don’t want any money from Saul and his family. And it’s not up to us to put anyone in Israel to death.”
But David persisted: “What are you saying I should do for you?”
5-6 Then they told the king, “The man who tried to get rid of us, who schemed to wipe us off the map of Israel—well, let seven of his sons be handed over to us to be executed—hanged before God at Gibeah of Saul, the holy mountain.”
And David agreed, “I’ll hand them over to you.”
7-9 The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the promise David and Jonathan had spoken before God. But the king selected Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, plus the five sons that Saul’s daughter Merab had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He turned them over to the Gibeonites who hanged them on the mountain before God—all seven died together. Harvest was just getting underway, the beginning of the barley harvest, when they were executed.
10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took rough burlap and spread it out for herself on a rock from the beginning of the harvest until the heavy rains started. She kept the birds away from the bodies by day and the wild animals by night.
11-14 David was told what she had done, this Rizpah daughter of Aiah and concubine of Saul. He then went and got the remains of Saul and Jonathan his son from the leaders at Jabesh Gilead (who had rescued them from the town square at Beth Shan where the Philistines had hung them after striking them down at Gilboa). He gathered up their remains and brought them together with the dead bodies of the seven who had just been hanged. The bodies were taken back to the land of Benjamin and given a decent burial in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father.
They did everything the king ordered to be done. That cleared things up: from then on God responded to Israel’s prayers for the land.
15-17 War broke out again between the Philistines and Israel. David and his men went down to fight. David became exhausted. Ishbi-Benob, a warrior descended from Rapha, with a spear weighing nearly eight pounds and outfitted in brand-new armor, announced that he’d kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to the rescue, struck the Philistine, and killed him.
Then David’s men swore to him, “No more fighting on the front lines for you! Don’t snuff out the lamp of Israel!”
18 Later there was another skirmish with the Philistines at Gob. That time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, another of the warriors descended from Rapha.
19 At yet another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaar, the weaver of Bethlehem, killed Goliath the Gittite whose spear was as big as a flagpole.
20-21 Still another fight broke out in Gath. There was a giant there with six fingers on his hands and six toes on his feet—twenty-four fingers and toes! He was another of those descended from Rapha. He insulted Israel, and Jonathan son of Shimeah, David’s brother, killed him.
22 These four were descended from Rapha in Gath. And they all were killed by David and his soldiers.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson