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Ish-bosheth Put to Death

Then [a]Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son heard that (A)Abner had died in Hebron. And [b](B)he lost courage, and all Israel was dismayed. Now Saul’s son had two men who were commanders of bands: the name of the one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin (for (C)Beeroth is also considered (D)part of Benjamin, and the Beerothites fled to (E)Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day).

Now (F)Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the (G)report of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and became lame. And his name was [c](H)Mephibosheth.

So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went forth and came to the house of (I)Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest. [d]They came to the middle of the house as [e]if to get wheat, and (J)they struck him in the belly; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. Thus they came into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, and they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. And they took his head and (K)went on the way leading to the Arabah all night. Then they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth (L)the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus Yahweh has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his seed.”

And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As Yahweh lives, (M)who has redeemed my life from all distress, 10 (N)when one told me, saying, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and [f]thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now (O)require his blood from your hand and purge you from the earth?” 12 Then (P)David commanded the young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth (Q)and buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 4:1 As in some ancient mss; M.T. he
  2. 2 Samuel 4:1 Lit his hands dropped
  3. 2 Samuel 4:4 Merib-baal
  4. 2 Samuel 4:6 Lit And here
  5. 2 Samuel 4:6 Lit takers of wheat
  6. 2 Samuel 4:10 Lit he was as a bearer of good news in his own eyes

Ishbosheth murdered

When Ishbosheth,[a] Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost his courage,[b] and all Israel was alarmed. Saul’s son had two men who led the raiding parties—one was named Baanah and the other Rechab. Both were sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from Beeroth. (Beeroth was considered part of Benjamin. The people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim and even now live there as immigrants.)

Now Saul’s son Jonathan had a boy whose feet were crippled. He was only 5 years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and so his nurse snatched him up and fled. But as she hurried to get away, he fell and was injured. His name was Mephibosheth.[c]

Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, set out and reached Ishbosheth’s house at the heat of the day, right when he was lying down, taking an afternoon rest. They went straight into his house, as if getting wheat,[d] and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. They had entered the house while Ishbosheth was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed him and killed him, they cut off his head, took it, and traveled all night through the wilderness.

They brought Ishbosheth’s head to David at Hebron. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth,” they told the king, “the son of Saul your enemy, who wanted you dead. Today the Lord has avenged our master[e] the king on Saul and his descendants.”

David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has rescued me[f] from all kinds of trouble,” he told them, 10 “when someone told me Saul was dead back in Ziklag, thinking he was bringing good news, I grabbed him and killed him. That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 What do you think I’ll do when evil people kill a righteous person in his own house on his own bed? Why shouldn’t I demand his blood from your hands and rid the earth of you both?”

12 So David gave the order to his servants, and they killed Rechab and Baanah, cutting off their hands and feet and hanging them up by the pool at Hebron. But they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in the grave of Abner at Hebron.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 4:1 Heb lacks Ishbosheth; LXX, DSS (4QSama) Mephibosheth; cf 4:4 and the note at 2 Sam 2:8.
  2. 2 Samuel 4:1 Or his hands grew weak
  3. 2 Samuel 4:4 Called Merib-baal in 1 Chron 8:34; 9:40. See the note at 2 Sam 2:8.
  4. 2 Samuel 4:6 Heb uncertain
  5. 2 Samuel 4:8 Or my master
  6. 2 Samuel 4:9 Or my life or my soul