2 Samuel 21
1 And there is a famine in the days of David [for] three years, year after year, and David seeks the face of YHWH, and YHWH says, “[This is] for Saul and for the bloody house, because that he put the Gibeonites to death.”
During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
2 And the king calls for the Gibeonites and says to them—as for the Gibeonites, they [are] not of the sons of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorite, and the sons of Israel had sworn to them, and Saul seeks to strike them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah—
At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)
3 indeed, David says to the Gibeonites, “What do I do for you? And with what do I make atonement? And bless the inheritance of YHWH.”
So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”
4 And the Gibeonites say to him, “We have no silver and gold by Saul and by his house, and we have no man to put to death in Israel”; and he says, “What you are saying I do to you.”
The Gibeonites said to him, “We need no silver or gold from Saul or his house, nor should you put to death anyone in Israel for us.” “Whatever you ask, I will do for you,” he replied.
5 And they say to the king, “The man who consumed us, and who devised against us—we have been destroyed from stationing ourselves in all the border of Israel—
And they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us to exterminate us from existing within any border of Israel,
6 let there be given to us seven men of his sons, and we have hanged them before YHWH, in the height of Saul, the chosen of YHWH.” And the king says, “I give”;
let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” “I will give them to you,” said the king.
7 and the king has pity on Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul, because of the oath of YHWH that [is] between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul;
Now the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
8 and the king takes the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Michal daughter of Saul whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite,
But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, as well as the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
9 and gives them into the hand of the Gibeonites, and they hang them in the hill before YHWH; and the seven fall together, and they have been put to death in the days of harvest, in the first [days], the commencement of barley-harvest.
And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD. So all seven of them fell together; they were put to death in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest.
10 And Rizpah daughter of Aiah takes the sackcloth, and stretches it out for herself on the rock, from the commencement of harvest until water has been poured out on them from the heavens, and has not permitted a bird of the heavens to rest on them by day, or the beast of the field by night.
And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain from heaven poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And it is declared to David that which Rizpah daughter of Aiah, concubine of Saul, has done,
When David was told what Saul’s concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, had done,
12 and David goes and takes the bones of Saul, and the bones of his son Jonathan, from the possessors of Jabesh-Gilead, who had stolen them from the broad place of Beth-Shan, where the Philistines hanged them, in the day of the Philistines striking Saul in Gilboa;
he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa.
13 and he brings up there the bones of Saul, and the bones of his son Jonathan, and they gather the bones of those hanged,
So David had the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan brought from there, along with the bones of those who had been hanged.
14 and bury the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin, in Zelah, in the burying-place of his father Kish, and do all that the king commanded, and God accepts the plea for the land afterward.
And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.
15 And again the Philistines have war with Israel, and David goes down, and his servants with him, and they fight with the Philistines; and David is weary,
Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines; but David became exhausted.
16 and Ishbi-Benob, who [is] among the children of the giant—the weight of his spear [is] three hundred [shekels in] weight of bronze, and he is girded with a new one—speaks of striking David,
Then Ishbi-benob, a descendant of Rapha, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels and who was bearing a new sword, resolved to kill David.
17 and Abishai son of Zeruiah gives help to him, and strikes the Philistine, and puts him to death; then the men of David swear to him, saying, “You do not go out with us to battle again, nor quench the lamp of Israel.”
But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished.”
18 And it comes to pass afterward that the battle is again in Gob with the Philistines. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite has struck Saph, who [is] among the children of the giant.
Some time later at Gob, there was another battle with the Philistines. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha.
19 And the battle is again in Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim, the Beth-Lehemite, strikes [a brother of] Goliath the Gittite, and the wood of his spear [is] like a weavers’ beam.
Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
20 And the battle is again in Gath, and there is a man of [great] stature, and the fingers of his hands [are] six, and the toes of his feet [are] six—twenty-four in number, and he has also been born to the giant,
And there was still another battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He too was descended from Rapha,
21 and he reproaches Israel, and Jonathan son of Shimeah, David’s brother, strikes him;
and when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of David’s brother Shimei killed him.
22 these four have been born to the giant in Gath, and they fall by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
So these four descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.
