THE SECOND BOOK OF
SAMUEL,
2 Samuel 21 ©
David inquires of God concerning the cause of the three years of famine, and understanding that it was because Saul had persecuted and slain the Gibeonites, he delivers the Gibeonites at their request seven persons of Saul’s family (sparing the son of Jonathan) whom they hung up, v. 1, etc. Rizpah guards the dead bodies, 10. David causes the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as also the bones of them who were hung up, to be buried in Saul’s sepulcher, 12. An account of four wars of David against the Philistines, wherein four of the giants of the Philistines are slain by David’s heroes, 15.
THEN there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David 1enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he 2slew the Gibeonites.
And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the 3remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworna unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his 4zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that 5ye may bless the 6inheritance of the LORD?
And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in 7Israel. And 8he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.
And they answered the king, 9The man that consumed us, and that 10devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,
Let seven men of his 11sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto 12the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, 13whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, becauseb14of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
But the king took the two sons of 15Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of 16Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the 17Meholathite:
And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the 18hill before the LORD: and they 19fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
¶And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took 20sackcloth, and 21spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon 22them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest 23on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
¶And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, whichc had 24stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in 25Gilboa:
And he brought up from thence the 26bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in 27Zelah, in the sepulchre of 28Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for 29the land.
¶Moreover the Philistines 30had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.
And Ishbi-benob, which was 31of the sons of the giant, the 32weight of whose 33spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a 34new sword, 35thought to have slain David.
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the 36men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the 37light of Israel.
And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines atd38Gob: then Sibbechai the 39Hushathite slew 40Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.
And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where 41Elhanan the son of 42Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew 43the brother of 44Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
And there was yet a battle in 45Gath, where was a man of 46great stature, 47that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
And when he 48defied Israel, Jonathan the son of 49Shimea the brother of David slew him.
These four were born to the giant in Gath, and 50fell by the hand of David, and by the hand 51of his servants.