2 Samuel 21

¹ In the days of David there was a famine which lasted for three years on end. David consulted Yahweh,and Yahweh said, 'Saul and his family have incurred blood-guilt, by putting the Gibeonites to death.'

² Then the king summoned the Gibeonites and said-now, the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but were aremnant of the Amorites, to whom the Israelites had bound themselves by oath; Saul, however, in his zeal for theIsraelites and for Judah, had done his best to exterminate them -- hence David said to the Gibeonites,

³ 'What can I do for you? How can I make amends, so that you wil cal a blessing down on Yahweh'sheritage?'

⁴ The Gibeonites replied, 'Our quarrel with Saul and his family cannot be settled for silver or gold, nor byputting to death one man in Israel.' David said, 'Say what you want and I wil do it for you.'

⁵ Then they replied to the king, 'The man who dismembered us and planned to annihilate us, so that weshould not exist anywhere in Israelite territory-

⁶ we want seven of his descendants handed over to us; and we shal dismember them before Yahwehat Gibeon on Yahweh's hill.' 'I shal hand them over,' said the king.

⁷ The king, however, spared Meribbaal son of Jonathan, son of Saul, on account of the oath by Yahwehbinding them together, binding David and Jonathan son of Saul.

⁸ The king took the two sons born to Saul by Rizpah daughter of Aiah: Armoni and Meribbaal; and thefive sons borne by Merab daughter of Saul to Adriel son of Barzil ai, of Meholah.

⁹ He handed these over to the Gibeonites who dismembered them before Yahweh on the hil . Theseven of them perished together; they were put to death in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of thebarley harvest.

¹⁰ Rizpah daughter of Aiah, wearing sacking and spreading some out for herself on the rock, from thebeginning of the barley harvest until the rain fel on them from heaven, kept the birds of the sky away from themin the daytime, and the wild animals away at night.

¹¹ David was told of what Saul's concubine, Rizpah daughter of Aiah, had done.

¹² David went and recovered the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the notables of Jabesh inGilead. The latter had stolen them from the square in Beth-Shean, where the Philistines had hung them, whenthe Philistines had defeated Saul at Gilboa.

¹³ David fetched the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. The bones of the men who had beendismembered were col ected

¹⁴ and these, with the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan, were buried in the territory of Benjamin, atZela, in the tomb of Saul's father, Kish. The king's orders were carried out to the letter and after that, God tookpity on the country.

¹⁵ Once again the Philistines made war on Israel. David went down with his retainers; they fought thePhilistines and David began to tire.

¹⁶ There was a champion, one of the sons of Rapha. His spear weighed three hundred shekels ofbronze; he was wearing a new sword and was confident of kil ing David.

¹⁷ Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his rescue, however, attacking the Philistine and kil ing him. Then itwas that David's men swore the fol owing oath to him, 'You are never to go into battle with us again, in case youshould extinguish the lamp of Israel!'

¹⁸ After this, war with the Philistines broke out again at Gob. This was when Sibbecai of Hushah kil edSaph, one of the sons of Rapha.

¹⁹ Again, war with the Philistines broke out at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jair, of Bethlehem, kil ed Goliathof Gath, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

²⁰ There was further warfare at Gath, where there was a man of huge stature with six fingers on eachhand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in al . He too was a son of Rapha.

²¹ When he defied Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, brother of David cut him down.

²² These four were sons of Rapha in Gath and fel at the hands of David and his retainers.