2 Samuel 21

Gibeonite’s Revenge

1Now there was 1a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and 2David sought the presence of the Lord. And the Lord said, “It is because of Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and 3the sons of Israel had 4made a covenant with them, but Saul had sought to 5kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah). 3David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? And how can I make amends, so that you will bless 6the inheritance of the Lord?” 4Then the Gibeonites said to him, “7For us it is not a matter of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put anyone to death in Israel.” Nevertheless David said, “I will do for you whatever you say.” 5So they said to the king, “8The man who destroyed us and who planned 9to eliminate us so that we would not exist within any border of Israel-- 6let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will 10hang them 11before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, 12the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

7But the king spared 13Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, 14because of the oath of the Lord which was between them, between David and Saul’s son Jonathan. 8So the king took the two sons of 15Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Armoni and Mephibosheth whom she had borne to Saul, and the five sons of 1617Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the 18Meholathite. 9Then he handed them over to the Gibeonites, and they 19hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, so that the seven of them fell together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest at 20the beginning of barley harvest.

1021And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until 22it rained on them from the sky; and 23she 24allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day nor the wild animals by night. 11When it was reported to David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12then David went and took 25the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of 26Beth-shan, 27where the Philistines had hanged them on the day 28the Philistines struck and killed Saul in Gilboa. 13He brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan, and they gathered the bones of those who had been 29hanged. 14Then they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the country of Benjamin in 30Zela, in the grave of his father Kish; So they did everything that the king commanded, and after that 31God responded to prayer for the land.

15Now when 32the Philistines were at war with Israel again, David went down, and his servants with him; and when they fought against the Philistines, David became weary. 16Then Ishbi-benob, who was 33among the descendants of the 34giant, the weight of whose spear was 35three hundred shekels of bronze in weight, 36had strapped on a new sword, and he 37intended to kill David. 17But 38Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “39You shall not go out again with us to battle, so that you do not extinguish 40the lamp of Israel.”

1841Now it came about after this that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then 42Sibbecai the Hushathite struck and killed Saph, who was among the descendants of the 43giant. 19And there was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite 44killed 45Goliath the Gittite, 46the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20And there was war at Gath again, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born 47to the 48giant. 21When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck and killed him. 2249These four were born to the 50giant at Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.