¹⁷ So the men said to her: “We will be ^(A)blameless^[a] of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,

⁷ But the king spared ^(A)Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of ^(B)the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

^2 (A)If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or ^(B)swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall ^(C)do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David ^(A)inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his ^[a]bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” ² So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but ^(B)of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them ^(C)in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.

^11 (A)‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, ^(B)nor lie to one another. ¹² And you shall not ^(C)swear by My name falsely, ^(D)nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

²⁰ And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be ^[a]free from your oath which you made us swear.”

³ and I will make you ^(A)swear^[a] by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that ^(B)you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; ^4 (C)but you shall go ^(D)to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵ And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”

⁶ But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord God of heaven, who ^(E)took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ^(F)‘To your ^[b]descendants I give this land,’ ^(G)He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then ^(H)you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”