New Living Translation
2 Samuel 21:6
6So let seven of Saul’s sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord.” “All right,” the king said, “I will do it.”
2 Samuel 21:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.
- New International Version (NIV)let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen one.” So the king said, “I will give them to you.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)let 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."
- New King James Version (NKJV)let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord chose.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
Context of 2 Samuel 21:6
4“Well, money can’t settle this matter between us and the family of Saul,” the Gibeonites replied. “Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel.” “What can I do then?” David asked. “Just tell me and I will do it for you.” 5Then they replied, “It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel. So let seven of Saul’s sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord.” “All right,” the king said, “I will do it.” 7The king spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord. 8But he gave them Saul’s two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah.
Read all of 2 Samuel 212 Samuel 21:6 word by word
יֻתַּן לָ֜נוּ שִׁבְעָ֤ה אֲנָשִׁים֙ מִבָּנָ֔יו וְהוֹקַֽעֲנוּם֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה בְּגִבְעַ֥ת שָׁא֖וּל בְּחִ֣יר יְהוָ֑ה ס וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲנִ֥י אֶתֵּֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Let sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- of his sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- be deliveredנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- unto us, and we will hang them upיָקַעyâqa‛ · to dislocate/hangH3363
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- in Gibeahגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · GibeahH1390
- of Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
- did chooseבָּחִירbâchîyr · chosenH972
- And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 21:6
- 2 Samuel 17:23When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey, went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself. He died there and was buried in the family tomb.
- 2 Samuel 18:10One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, “I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.”
- Genesis 40:19Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.”
- Numbers 25:4The Lord issued the following command to Moses: “Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the Lord in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel.”
- Deuteronomy 21:22“If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree,
- Joshua 8:29Joshua impaled the king of Ai on a sharpened pole and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body, as Joshua commanded, and threw it in front of the town gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.
- Joshua 10:26Then Joshua killed each of the five kings and impaled them on five sharpened poles, where they hung until evening.
- Ezra 6:11“Those who violate this decree in any way will have a beam pulled from their house. Then they will be lifted up and impaled on it, and their house will be reduced to a pile of rubble.
- Esther 9:10the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not take any plunder.
- Matthew 27:5Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.
- 1 Samuel 10:26When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a group of men whose hearts God had touched went with him.
- 1 Samuel 11:4When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears.
- 1 Samuel 9:16“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him to be the leader of my people, Israel. He will rescue them from the Philistines, for I have looked down on my people in mercy and have heard their cry.”
- 1 Samuel 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession.
- Acts 13:21Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 21:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Seven men of his sons - Meaning sons, grandsons, or other near branches of his family. It is supposed that the persons chosen were principal in assisting Saul to exterminate the Gibeonites. But where is the proof of this?Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Seven men - Seven was a sacred number not only with the Hebrews but with other Oriental nations Numbers 23:1, Numbers 23:29, and is therefore brought in on this occasion when the judicial death of the sons of Saul was a religious act intended to appease the wrath of God for the violation of an oath Numbers 25:4. Whom the Lord did choose - Rather, “the Lord‘s chosen,” or elect. The same phrase is applied to Moses Psalm 106:23, to the Israelites Isaiah…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6seven of his male descendants: The law codes of other ancient Near Eastern nations sometimes permitted members of a family to be punished for crimes a guilty individual had committed. But Deuteronomy 24:16 did not allow this practice among the Israelites. Only God could impose such penalties (Deuteronomy 5:9). The few instances in the Bible when offspring were punished were not regular criminal cases. Instead, they involved offenses against God, such as…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul--The practice of the Hebrews, as of most Oriental nations, was to slay first, and afterwards to suspend on a gibbet, the body not being left hanging after sunset. The king could not refuse this demand of the Gibeonites, who, in making it, were only exercising their right as blood-avengers; and, although through fear and a sense of weakness they had…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 21:6
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
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