2 Samuel 4
Lexham English Bible
Ish-Bosheth is Assassinated
4 When the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, his courage failed[a] and all of Israel was horrified. 2 Two of the men, commanders of the raiding bands, were for the son of Saul. The name of one was Baanah, and the name of the other was Recab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the descendants[b] of Benjamin; also, Beeroth was regarded as belonging to Benjamin. 3 The Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and they are resident aliens there until this day. 4 (Now Jonathan the son of Saul had a son who was crippled in the feet. He was five years old when the message of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse had picked him up and fled. It happened that as she was hurrying away to flee, he fell and became crippled. His name was Mephibosheth.) 5 When the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Recab and Baanah, set out, they came at the heat of the day to the house of Ish-Bosheth while he was taking a noontime rest.[c] 6 They came as far as the middle of the house as if takers of wheat, and they struck him in the stomach. Then Recab and Baanah his brother escaped. 7 When they had come into the house, he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber,[d] and they attacked him and killed him. Then they beheaded him,[e] and they took his head and went on the way of the Arabah all night. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron, and they said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life. Yahweh has given to my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and on his offspring.” 9 Then David answered Recab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and he said to them, “As Yahweh lives,[f] who redeemed my soul from all trouble, 10 when the one who told me, “Look, Saul is dead,” thought that he was bringing good news,[g] I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was as my giving the news back to him. 11 How much more[h] when wicked men kill a righteous man in his house, on his bed! So then, shall I not seek his lifeblood from your hand, so that I may destroy you from the earth?” 12 Then David commanded the young men, and they killed them, and they cut off their hands and their feet, and they hung them at the pool at Hebron, but the head of Ish-Bosheth they took and buried in the grave of Abner at Hebron.
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- 2 Samuel 4:1 Literally “his hands hung limp”
- 2 Samuel 4:2 Or “sons”
- 2 Samuel 4:5 Literally “he was lying with the bed at noon”
- 2 Samuel 4:7 Literally “in the room of his lying”
- 2 Samuel 4:7 Literally “they took away his head”
- 2 Samuel 4:9 Literally “The life of Yahweh”
- 2 Samuel 4:10 Literally “and he was as one bringing good news in his eyes”
- 2 Samuel 4:11 Literally “Also”
2 Samuel 4
New King James Version
Ishbosheth Is Murdered
4 When Saul’s [a]son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, (A)he[b] lost heart, and all Israel was (B)troubled. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin. (For (C)Beeroth also was [c]part of Benjamin, 3 because the Beerothites fled to (D)Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.)
4 (E)Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came (F)from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was (G)Mephibosheth.[d]
5 Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out and came at about the heat of the day to the (H)house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon. 6 And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat, and they [e]stabbed him (I)in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. 7 For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain. 8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, (J)who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.”
9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the Lord lives, (K)who has redeemed my life from all adversity, 10 when (L)someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now (M)require his [f]blood at your hand and [g]remove you from the earth?” 12 So David (N)commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the (O)tomb of Abner in Hebron.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 4:1 Ishbosheth
- 2 Samuel 4:1 Lit. his hands dropped
- 2 Samuel 4:2 considered part of
- 2 Samuel 4:4 Merib-Baal, 1 Chr. 8:34; 9:40
- 2 Samuel 4:6 Lit. struck
- 2 Samuel 4:11 Or bloodshed
- 2 Samuel 4:11 Lit. consume you
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
