2 Samuel 4
Amplified Bible
Ish-bosheth Murdered
4 When Saul’s son Ish-bosheth [king of Israel], heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he [a]lost courage, and all Israel was horrified. 2 Saul’s son had two men who were commanders of [raiding] bands [of soldiers]. One was named Baanah and the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the sons (tribe) of Benjamin (for Beeroth is also considered part of [the tribe of] Benjamin, 3 and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have been resident aliens there to this day).
4 Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the news [of the deaths] of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. And the boy’s nurse picked him up and fled; but it happened that while she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
5 So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, left and came to the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest. 6 They came into the interior of the house as if to get wheat [for the soldiers], and they struck him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped [unnoticed]. 7 Now when they entered the house he was lying on his bed in his bedroom. They [not only] struck and killed him, [but] they also beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled all night by way of the Arabah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Look, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus the Lord has granted my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and on his descendants.”
9 David replied to Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every adversity, 10 when a man told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ [b]thinking that he was bringing good news, I seized and killed him in Ziklag, to reward him for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous and just man in his own house on his bed, shall I not require his blood from your hand and remove you from the earth?” 12 So David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them beside the pool in Hebron. But they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Hebron in the tomb of Abner [his relative].
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 4:1 Lit his hands went slack.
- 2 Samuel 4:10 Lit as one who brings good news in his own eyes.
2 Samuel 4
Names of God Bible
Ishbosheth Is Murdered
4 When Saul’s son Ishbosheth heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost his courage, and all Israel was alarmed. 2 Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding parties. One was named Baanah, and the other was named Rechab. They were the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth from the tribe of Benjamin.
(Beeroth was considered a part of Benjamin, 3 even though the people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim. They still live there today. 4 In addition, Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled. When the boy was five years old, the news about the death of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled to Gittaim. She was in a hurry when she left, and he fell from her arms and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)
5 Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, came to Ishbosheth’s home at the hottest time of the day. Ishbosheth was taking his midday nap 6 when they came into the house as though they were going to get some flour. Instead, they stabbed him in the belly. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. 7 (They had come into the house while Ishbosheth was sleeping on his bed in his bedroom. They stabbed him, killed him, and cut off his head.) They took his head and traveled all night along the road to the plains.
8 They brought Ishbosheth’s head to David at Hebron. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you,” they told the king. “Today Yahweh has given Your Royal Majesty revenge on Saul and his descendants.”
9 David responded to Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, 10 “I once seized a man who told me that Saul had died. He thought he was bringing good news. I killed him in Ziklag to reward him for his news. 11 How much more should I reward wicked men who kill an innocent man on his own bed in his home? Yahweh has rescued me from every trouble. I solemnly swear, as Yahweh lives,[a] I’ll now seek revenge for his murder and rid the land of you.” 12 So David gave an order to his young men, who executed Rechab and Baanah, cut off their hands and feet, and hung their dead bodies by the pond in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 4:11 The last part of verse 9 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 11 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.
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The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.