2 Samuel 21
1 During the time that David [ruled], there was a famine [in Israel] for three years. David prayed to Yahweh about it. And Yahweh said, “[In order for the famine to end], Saul’s family needs to be punished [MTY] because Saul killed many people from Gibeon [city].”
And it was a famine in [the] days of David three years year after year and he sought David [the] face of Yahweh. And he said Yahweh because of Saul and because of [the] house of blood on that he put to death the Gibeonites.
2 The people of Gibeon were not Israelis; they were a small group of the Amor people-group whom the Israelis had solemnly promised to protect. But Saul had tried to kill all of them because he (was very zealous/wanted very much) to enable the people of Judah and Israel [to be the only ones living in that land]. So the king summoned the leaders of Gibeon
And he summoned the king the Gibeonites and he said to them and the Gibeonites not [were] from [the] people of Israel they that except from [the] remnant of the Amorite[s] and [the] people of Israel they had sworn an oath to them and he had sought Saul to strike down them because was zealous he for [the] people of Israel and Judah.
3 and said to them, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends/up for what was done to your people, in order that you will bless us who belong to Yahweh?”
And he said David to the Gibeonites what? will I do for you and how? will I make amends and bless [the] inheritance of Yahweh.
4 They replied, “You cannot settle our quarrel with Saul and his family by giving us silver or gold. And we do not have the right to kill any Israelis.” So David asked, “Then/So what do you say that I should do for you?”
And they said to him the Gibeonites not (to us *Q(K)*) silver and gold with Saul and with house his and not to us a man to put to death in Israel and he said what? [are] you saying I will do for you.
5 They replied, “Saul [wanted to] get rid of us. He wanted to annihilate/kill all of us, in order that none of us would live anywhere in Israel.
And they said to the king the man who he made an end of us and who he planned to us we were destroyed from standing in all [the] territory of Israel.
6 Hand over to us seven of Saul’s descendants. We will hang them where Yahweh is worshiped in Gibeon, our town, the town where Saul, whom Yahweh previously chose to be king, lived.” The king replied, “Okay, I will hand them over to you.”
(Let it be given *Q(K)*) to us seven men from descendants his and we will impale them to Yahweh at Gibeah of Saul [the] chosen one of Yahweh. And he said the king I I will give [them].
7 The king did not hand over to them Saul’s grandson Mephibosheth, because of what he and [Mephibosheth’s father] Jonathan had solemnly promised to each other.
And he had compassion the king on Mephi-bosheth [the] son of Jonathan [the] son of Saul on [the] oath of Yahweh which [was] between them between David and between Jonathan [the] son of Saul.
8 Instead, he took Armoni and another man named Mephibosheth, the two sons that Saul’s slave wife Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, had given birth to, and the five sons that Saul’s daughter Merab had given birth to. Merab’s husband was Adriel, the son of a man named Barzillai from Meholah [town].
And he took the king [the] two [the] sons of Rizpah [the] daughter of Aiah whom she had borne to Saul Armoni and Mephibosheth and [the] five [the] sons of Michal [the] daughter of Saul whom she had borne to Adriel [the] son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
9 David handed those men over to the men from Gibeon. Then they hanged those seven men on a hill where they worshiped Yahweh. They were all killed during the time of the year that the people started to harvest the barley.
And he gave them in [the] hand of the Gibeonites and they impaled them on the mountain before Yahweh and they fell ([the] seven of them *Q(K)*) together (and they *Q(k)*) they were put to death in [the] days of harvest in the first (at [the] beginning of *Q(K)*) [the] harvest of barley.
10 Then Rizpah took coarse cloth made from goats’ hair, and spread it on the rock [where the corpses lay]. She stayed there from the time that people started to harvest the barley until the rains started. She did not allow any birds to come near the corpses during the day, and she did not allow any animals to come near during the night.
And she took Rizpah [the] daughter of Aiah sackcloth and she spread out it for herself to the rock from [the] beginning of harvest until it was poured out water on them from the heavens and not she permitted [the] bird[s] of the heavens to rest on them by day and [the] animal[s] of the field night.
11 When someone told David what Rizpah had done,
And it was told to David [that] which she had done Rizpah [the] daughter of Aiah [the] concubine of Saul.
12 he went with some of his servants to Jabesh in [the] Gilead [region] and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. The people of Jabesh had stolen their bones from the (plaza/public square) in Beth-Shan [city], where the men from Philistia had hanged them previously, on the day that they had killed Saul and Jonathan on Gilboa [Mountain].
And he went David and he took [the] bones of Saul and [the] bones of Jonathan son his from with [the] citizens of Jabesh Gilead who they had stolen them from [the] open square of Beth Shan where (they had hung up them there [the] Philistines *Q(K)*) on [the] day struck down [the] Philistines Saul on Gilboa.
13 David and his men took the bones of Saul and Jonathan, and they also took the bones of the seven men [from Gibeon] whom the men from Philistia had hanged.
And he brought up from there [the] bones of Saul and [the] bones of Jonathan son his and they gathered [the] bones of the impaled [men].
14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan in Zela [town] in the land of [the tribe of] Benjamin. Doing all that the king commanded, they buried their bones in the tomb where Saul’s father Kish [was buried]. After that, [because] God [saw that Saul’s family had been punished to pay for Saul’s murder of many people from Gibeon, he] answered the Israelis’ prayers for their land, and caused the famine to end.
And they buried [the] bones of Saul and Jonathan son his in [the] land of Benjamin at Zela in [the] tomb of Kish father his and they did all that he commanded the king and he was entreated God for the land after thus.
15 The army of Philistia again started to fight against the army of Israel. And David and his soldiers went to fight the Philistines. During the battle, David became weary.
And it belonged again war to the Philistines with Israel and he went down David and servants his with him and they fought with [the] Philistines and he was weary David.
16 One of the Philistia men thought that he could kill David. His name was Ishbi-Benob. He was a descendant of [a group of] giants. He carried a bronze spear that weighed about (7-1/2 pounds/3-1/2 kg.), and he also had a new sword.
(And Ishbi-*Q(K)*) Benob who - [was] among those born of the Raphah and [the] weight of spear his [was] three hundred [the] weight of bronze and he [was] girded a new [weapon] and he said to strike down David.
17 But Abishai came to help David, and attacked the giant and killed him. Then David’s soldiers forced him to promise that he would not go with them into a battle again. They said to him, “[If you die, and none of your descendants become king, that would be like] [MET] extinguishing the last light in Israel.”
And he helped him Abishai [the] son of Zeruiah and he struck the Philistine and he killed him then they swore [the] men of David to him saying not you will go out again with us for battle and not you will extinguish [the] lamp of Israel.
18 Some time after that, there was a battle with the army of Philistia near Gob [village]. During the battle, Sibbecai, from [the] Hushah [clan], killed Saph, one of the descendants of the Rapha giants.
And it was after thus and it was again war at Gob with [the] Philistines then he struck down Sibbecai the Hushathite Saph who [was] among those born of the Raphah.
19 [Later] there was another battle with the army of Philistia at Gob. During that battle, Elhanan, the son of Jaare-Oregim from Bethlehem, killed [the brother of] Goliath from Gath [city]; Goliath’s spear shaft/handle was (very thick, like the bar on a weaver’s loom/over two inches thick).
And it was again war at Gob with [the] Philistines and he struck down Elhanan [the] son of Jaare-Oregim [the] Beth-lehemite Goliath the Gittite and [the] wood of spear his [was] like a beam of weavers.
20 Later there was another battle near Gath. There was a (huge man/giant) there who liked to fight [in battles]. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He was descended from [the] Rapha [giants].
And it was again war at Gath and he was - a man of (stature *Q(K)*) and [the] fingers of hands his and [the] toes of feet his [were] six and six [was] twenty and four [the] number and also he he was born to the Raphah.
21 But when he (made fun of/ridiculed) the men in the Israeli [army], Jonathan, the son of David’s [older] brother Shimeah, killed him.
And he taunted Israel and he struck down him Jonathan [the] son of (Shimeah *Q(K)*) [the] brother of David.
22 Those four men were some of the descendants of the Rapha giants who had lived in Gath, who were killed [MTY] by David and his soldiers.
Four these they were born to the Raphah in Gath and they fell by [the] hand of David and by [the] hand of servants his.
