2 Samuel

2 Samuel 21 ©

1 The three years' famine on account of the Gibeonites ceaseth upon hanging seven of Saul's sons. 10 Rizpah's care for their dead bodies. 12 David burieth their bones with those of Saul and Jonathan in the sepulchre of Kish. 15 In four battles against the Philistines four of David's mighty men slay four giants.

1

THEN there was a afamine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David 1enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, bIt is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because che slew the Gibeonites.

2

And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but dof the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay ethem in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)

3

Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may fbless gthe inheritance of the LORD?

4

And the Gibeonites said unto him, 2We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

5

And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that 3devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the *coasts of Israel,

6

Let hseven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD iin Gibeah of Saul, 4whom jthe LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.

7

But the king spared kMephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the lLORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

8

But the king took the two sons of mRizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of 5Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she 6brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

9

And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them nin the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, oin the beginning of barley harvest.

10

¶And pRizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, qfrom the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

11

And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

12

¶And David went and took the rbones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from sthe men of Jabesh-gilead, twhich had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:

13

And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

14

And uthe bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, vin the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that wGod was intreated for the land.

15

¶Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.

16

And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of 7the giant, 8the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being *girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

17

But xAbishai the son of Zeruiah ysuccoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, zThou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou aquench not the 9light of Israel.

18

And bit came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then cSibbechai the Hushathite slew 10Saph, which was of the sons of 11the giant.

19

And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where dElhanan the son of 12Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

20

And ethere was yet a battle in fGath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to 13the giant.

21

And when he 14defied Israel, Jonathan the son of 15Shimea the brother of David slew him.

22

gThese four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.