< 2 Samuel 21 >

1 And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David besought the presence of the Lord. And the Lord said, On account of Saul, and on account of the house of blood, is this; because he hath slain the Gib'onites.
And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, [There is] guilt upon Saul and his house because of his bloody murder, whereby he killed the Gabaonites.
2 And the king called for the Gib'onites, and said unto them: [now the Gib'onites are not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Emorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them; but Saul had sought to slay them in his zeal for the children of Israel in Judah: ]
And King David called the Gabaonites, and said to them; —(now the Gabaonites are not the children of Israel, but [are] of the remnant of the Amorite, and the children of Israel had sworn to them: but Saul sought to strike them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Juda.)
3 Wherefore David said unto the Gib'onites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
And David said to the Gabaonites, What shall I do to you? and wherewithal shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
4 And the Gib'onites said unto him, We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul and with his house: nor do we wish to kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye say, will I do for you.
And the Gabaonites said to him, We have no [question about] silver or gold with Saul and with his house; and there is no man for us to put to death in Israel.
5 And they said to the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed, so that we should have no footing in all the boundaries of Israel.
And he said, What say you? speak, and I will do it for you. And they said to the king, The man who would have made an end of us, and persecuted us, who plotted against us to destroy us, let us utterly destroy him, so that he shall have no standing in all the coasts of Israel.
6 Let there be delivered unto us seven men of his sons, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gib'ah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord. And the king said, I will give them.
Let one give us seven men of his sons, and let us hang them up in the sun to the Lord in Gabaon of Saul, as chosen out for the Lord. And the king said, I will give [them].
7 But the king had pity on 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.
But the king spared Memphibosthe son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, even between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
8 And the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Ayah, whom she had born unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had brought up for 'Adriel the son of Barzillai the Mecholathite:
And the king took the two sons of Respha the daughter of Aia, whom she bore to Saul, Hermonoi and Memphibosthe, and the five sons of Michol daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Esdriel son of Berzelli the Moulathite.
9 And he delivered them into the hand of the Gib'onites, and they hanged them on the mount before the Lord; and they fell, these seven, together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest, in the beginning of the barley-harvest.
And he gave them into the hand of the Gabaonites, and they hanged them up to the sun in the mountain before the lord: and they fell, even the seven together: moreover they were put to death in the days of harvest at the commencement, in the beginning of barley harvest.
10 And Rizpah the daughter of Ayah took sackcloth, and spread out it for herself upon the rock, from the beginning of the harvest until water dropped down upon them out of heaven, and she suffered neither the birds of heaven to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
And Respha the daughter of Aia took sackcloth, and fixed it for herself on the rock in the beginning of barley harvest, until water dropped upon them out of heaven: and she did not suffer the birds of the air to rest upon them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And it was told to David what Rizpah the daughter of Ayah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
And it was told David what Respha the daughter of Aia the concubine of Saul had done, [and they were faint, and Dan, the son of Joa of the offspring of the giants overtook them.]
12 And David then went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Yabeshgil'ad, who had stolen them from the market-place of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them up, at the time the Philistines had smitten Saul at Gilboa':
And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of the sons of Jabis Galaad, who stole them from the street of Baethsan; for the Philistines set them there in the day in which the Philistines struck Saul in Gelbue.
13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered up the bones of those that had been hanged.
And he carried up thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and gathered the bones of them that had been hanged.
14 And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin at Zela', in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king had commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land.
And they buried the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and the bones of them that had been hanged, in the land of Benjamin in the hill, in the sepulchre of Cis his father; and they did all things that the king commanded: and after this God listened to [the prayers of] the land.
15 And the Philistines had again a war with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David became fatigued.
And there was yet war between the Philistines and Israel: and David went down and his servants with him, and they fought with the Philistines, and David went.
16 And Yishbi at Nob, who was of the children of the Raphah, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of copper, he being girded with a new armor, thought to slay David.
And Jesbi, who was of the progeny of Rapha, and the head of whose spear [was] three hundred shekels of brass in weight, who also was girded with a club, even he thought to strike David.
17 But Abishai the son of Zeruyah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then swore the men of David unto him, saying, Thou shalt go out no more with us to battle, that thou mayest not quench the lamp of Israel.
And Abessa the son of Saruia helped him and struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore, saying, You shall not any longer go out with us to battle, and you shall not quench the lamp of Israel.
18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle at Gob, with the Philistines: then smote Sibbechai the Chushathite Saph, who was of the children of the Raphah.
And after this there was a battle again with the Philistines in Geth: then Sebocha the Astatothite killed Seph of the progeny of Rapha.
19 And there was again a battle at Gob with the Philistines, when Elchanan the son of Ya'are-oregim, the Bethlechemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
And there was a battle in Rom with the Philistines; and Eleanan son of Ariorgim the Bethleemite killed Goliath the Gittite; and the staff of his spear [was] as a weaver's beam.
20 And there was again a battle in Gath, where was a man of [great] stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, [in all] four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the Raphah.
And there was yet a battle in Geth: and there was a man of stature, and the fingers of his hands and the toes of his feet [were] six on each, four and twenty in number: and he also was born to Rapha.
21 And he defied Israel; but Jonathan the son of Shim'ah, the brother of David, slew him.
And he defied Israel, and Jonathan son of Semei brother of David, struck him.
22 These four were born to the Raphah in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
These four were born descendants of the giants in Geth, the family of Rapha; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

< 2 Samuel 21 >