< 2 Samuel 21 >

1 And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David besought the presence of the Lord. And the Lord said, On account of Saul, and on account of the house of blood, is this; because he hath slain the Gib'onites.
And there was a famine in the days of David for three years successively: and David consulted the oracle of the Lord. And the Lord said: It is for Saul, and his bloody house, because he slew the Gabaonites.
2 And the king called for the Gib'onites, and said unto them: [now the Gib'onites are not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Emorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them; but Saul had sought to slay them in his zeal for the children of Israel in Judah: ]
Then the king, calling for the Gabaonites, said to them: (Now the Gabaonites were not of the children of Israel, but the remains of the Amorrhites: I and the children of Israel had sworn to them, and Saul sought to slay them out of zeal, as it were for the children of Israel and Juda: )
3 Wherefore David said unto the Gib'onites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
David therefore said to the Gabaonites: What shall I do for you? and what shall be the atonement for you, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
4 And the Gib'onites said unto him, We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul and with his house: nor do we wish to kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye say, will I do for you.
And the Gabaonites said to him: We have no contest about silver and gold, but against Saul and against his house: neither do we desire that any man be slain of Israel. And the king said to them: What will you then that I should do for you?
5 And they said to the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed, so that we should have no footing in all the boundaries of Israel.
And they said to the king: The man that crushed us and oppressed us unjustly, we must destroy in such manner that there be not so much as one left of his stock in all the coasts of Israel.
6 Let there be delivered unto us seven men of his sons, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gib'ah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord. And the king said, I will give them.
Let seven men of his children be delivered unto us, that we may crucify them to the Lord in Gabaa of Saul, once the chosen of the Lord. And the king said: I will give them.
7 But the king had pity on Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
And the king spared Miphiboseth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord, that had been between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
8 And the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Ayah, whom she had born unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had brought up for 'Adriel the son of Barzillai the Mecholathite:
So the king took the two sons of Respha the daughter of Aia, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni, and Miphiboseth: and the five sons of Michol the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Hadriel the son of Berzellai, that was of Molathi:
9 And he delivered them into the hand of the Gib'onites, and they hanged them on the mount before the Lord; and they fell, these seven, together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest, in the beginning of the barley-harvest.
And gave them into the hands of the Gabaonites: and they crucified them on a hill before the Lord: and these seven died together in the first days of the harvest, when the barley began to be reaped.
10 And Rizpah the daughter of Ayah took sackcloth, and spread out it for herself upon the rock, from the beginning of the harvest until water dropped down upon them out of heaven, and she suffered neither the birds of heaven to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
And Respha the daughter of Aia took haircloth, and spread it under her upon the rock from the beginning of the harvest, till water dropped upon them out of heaven: and suffered neither the birds to tear them by day, nor the beasts by night.
11 And it was told to David what Rizpah the daughter of Ayah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
And it was told David, what Respha the daughter of Aia, the concubine of Saul, had done.
12 And David then went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Yabeshgil'ad, who had stolen them from the market-place of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them up, at the time the Philistines had smitten Saul at Gilboa':
And David went, and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabes Galaad, who had stolen them from the street of Bethsan, where the Philistines had hanged them when they had slain Saul in Gelboe.
13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered up the bones of those that had been hanged.
And he brought from thence the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gathered up the bones of them that were crucified,
14 And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin at Zela', in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king had commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land.
And they buried them with the bones of Saul, and of Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin, in the side, in the sepulchre of Cis his father: and they did all that the king had commanded, and God shewed mercy again to the land after these things.
15 And the Philistines had again a war with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David became fatigued.
And the Philistines made war again against Israel, and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David growing faint,
16 And Yishbi at Nob, who was of the children of the Raphah, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of copper, he being girded with a new armor, thought to slay David.
Jesbibenob, who was of the race of Arapha, the iron of whose spear weighed three hundred ounces, being girded with a new sword, attempted to kill David.
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruyah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then swore the men of David unto him, saying, Thou shalt go out no more with us to battle, that thou mayest not quench the lamp of Israel.
And Abisai the son of Sarvia rescued him, and striking the Philistine killed him. Then David’s men swore unto him, saying: Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, lest thou put out the lamp of Israel.
18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle at Gob, with the Philistines: then smote Sibbechai the Chushathite Saph, who was of the children of the Raphah.
There was also a second battle in Gob against the Philistines: then Sobochai of Husathi slew Saph of the race of Arapha of the family of the giants.
19 And there was again a battle at Gob with the Philistines, when Elchanan the son of Ya'are-oregim, the Bethlechemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
And there was a third battle in Gob against the Philistines, in which Adeodatus the son of the Forrest an embroiderer of Bethlehem slew Goliath the Gethite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
20 And there was again a battle in Gath, where was a man of [great] stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, [in all] four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the Raphah.
A fourth battle was in Geth. where there was a man of great stature, that had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, four and twenty in all, and he was of the race of Arapha.
21 And he defied Israel; but Jonathan the son of Shim'ah, the brother of David, slew him.
And he reproached Israel: and Jonathan the son of Samae the brother of David slew him.
22 These four were born to the Raphah in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
These four were born of Arapha in Geth, and they fell by the hand of David, and of his servants.

< 2 Samuel 21 >