English Standard Version
2 Samuel 21:7
7But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
2 Samuel 21:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But the king spared 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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But the king spared 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The king spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord.
Context of 2 Samuel 21:7
5They said to the king, "The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord." And the king said, "I will give them." But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.
Read all of 2 Samuel 212 Samuel 21:7 word by word
וַיַּחְמֹ֣ל הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ עַל־מְפִי־בֹ֖שֶׁת בֶּן־יְהוֹנָתָ֣ן בֶּן־שָׁא֑וּל עַל־שְׁבֻעַ֤ת יְהוָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בֵּֽינֹתָ֔ם בֵּ֣ין דָּוִ֔ד וּבֵ֖ין יְהוֹנָתָ֥ן בֶּן־שָׁאֽוּל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- sparedחָמַלchâmal · to spareH2550
- Mephiboshethמְפִיבֹשֶׁתmephîybôsheth mephibôsheth · MephiboshethH4648
- the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of Jonathanיְהוֹנָתָןyehônâthân · JonathanH3083
- of Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
- because of the Lord’sיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- oathשְׁבוּעָהshebû‛âh · oathH7621
- between them, between Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 21:7
- 2 Samuel 4:4Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
- 2 Samuel 9:10And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
- 2 Samuel 16:4Then the king said to Ziba, "Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours." And Ziba said, "I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king."
- 2 Samuel 19:25And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, "Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?"
- 1 Samuel 18:3Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.
- 1 Samuel 20:8Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?"
- 1 Samuel 23:18And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 21:7
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The Lord‘s oath - The calamity brought upon Israel by Saul‘s breach of the oath to the Gibeonites would make David doubly careful in the matter of his own oath to Jonathan.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7the oath: See 1 Samuel 20:14–15. Unlike Saul, David kept his promise even as he faced the dangerous consequences of Saul breaking an oath.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-92Sa 21:1-9. The Three Years' Famine for the Gibeonites Cease by Hanging Seven of Saul's Sons. 1. the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites--The sacred history has not recorded either the time or the reason of this massacre. Some think that they were sufferers in the atrocity perpetrated by Saul at Nob (1Sa 22:19), where many of them may have resided as attendants of the priests; while others suppose it…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 21:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries