The Second Book of Samuel

2Sa 21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gib´-e-on-ites.

2Sa 21:2 And the king called the Gib´-eon-ites, and said unto them; (now the Gib´-e-on-ites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Am´-or-ites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)

2Sa 21:3 Wherefore David said unto the Gib´-e-on-ites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?

2Sa 21:4 And the Gib´-e-on-ites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

2Sa 21:5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,

2Sa 21:6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gib´-e-ah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.

2Sa 21:7 But the king spared Me-phib´-osheth, 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.

2Sa 21:8 But the king took the two sons of Riz´-pah the daughter of A´-iah, whom she bare unto Saul, Ar-mo´-ni and Me-phib´-o-sheth; and the five sons of Mi´-chal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for A´-dri-el the son of Bar-zil´-lai the Me-hol´-ath-ite:

2Sa 21:9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gib´-e-on-ites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

2Sa 21:10 And Riz´-pah the daughter of A´-iah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

2Sa 21:11 And it was told David what Riz´pah the daughter of A´-iah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

2Sa 21:12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Ja´besh–gil´-e-ad, which had stolen them from the street of Beth´–shan, where the Phi-lis´-tines had hanged them, when the Phi-lis´-tines had slain Saul in Gil-bo´-a:

2Sa 21:13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

2Sa 21:14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Ze´-lah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

2Sa 21:15 Moreover the Phi-lis´-tines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philis´-tines: and David waxed faint.

2Sa 21:16 And Ish´-bi–be´-nob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shek´-els of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

2Sa 21:17 But A-bi´-shai the son of Zeru´-iah succoured him, and smote the Phi-lis´-tine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.

2Sa 21:18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Phi-lis´-tines at Gob: then Sib´-be-chai the Hu´-shath-ite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.

2Sa 21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Phi-lis´-tines, where Elha´-nan the son of Ja´-a-re–or´-e-gim, a Beth´–le-hem-ite, slew the brother of Go-li´-ath the Git´-tite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

2Sa 21:20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

2Sa 21:21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shim´-e-ah the brother of David slew him.

2Sa 21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.