2 Samuel 4
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 4
The Death of Ishbaal. 1 When Saul’s son Ishbaal heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed him, and all Israel was alarmed. 2 Ishbaal had two men who served as captains of raiding parties; one was named Baanah, and the other was named Rechab. They were the sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from Beeroth—for Beeroth is regarded as being part of Benjamin. 3 The people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim, where they have remained as aliens to this very day.
4 Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, the young boy fell to the ground and became lame. His name was Meribbaal.[a]
5 The sons of Rimmon of Beeroth, Rechab and Baanah, arrived at the house of Ishbaal during the hottest part of the day while he was taking his midday rest. 6 The woman who was stationed at the door had fallen asleep while she was sifting wheat. 7 Therefore, Rechab and his brother quietly slipped past her and entered the house, and when they found him asleep on the couch in his bedroom, they attacked and killed him and cut off his head. Then they took his head and traveled throughout the night by way of the Arabah.
The Murder Avenged.[b] 8 When they arrived in Hebron, they brought the head of Ishbaal to David and said to the king: “Here is the head of Ishbaal, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. Thus has the Lord this day avenged my lord the king on Saul and his offspring.”
9 Then David replied to Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite: “As the Lord lives, he who has delivered me from every danger, 10 in Ziklag I seized and ordered to be killed the man who brought me word that Saul was dead. That was how I rewarded him. 11 How much more then should I take such action when wicked men have slain an innocent man as he was lying on his bed in his house. Should I not now exact vengeance on you for shedding his blood and remove you from the face of the earth?”
12 Therefore, at David’s command, his young soldiers killed them. Then they cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. However, they took the head of Ishbaal and buried it in Abner’s grave at Hebron.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 4:4 Meribbaal: in Hebrew Mephibosheth (see ch. 9).
- 2 Samuel 4:8 As in the case of the messenger announcing Saul’s death (2 Sam 1:1-16), David is not won over by Rechab and Baanah’s murder of his rival Ishbaal. David’s sense of justice demands severe punishment and dishonor for them while Ishbaal’s remains are treated with respect.
2 Samuel 4
King James Version
4 And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.
2 And Saul's son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin.
3 And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.)
4 And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
5 And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon.
6 And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
7 For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night.
8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the Lord liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
10 When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:
11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
12 And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.
