David Avenges the Gibeonites
1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and Davidinquired of theLord. And theLordanswered, “Itisbecause of Saul andhisbloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeoniteswerenot of the children of Israel, butof the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill themin his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may blessthe inheritance of theLord?”
4 And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.”
So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
5 Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us,thatwe should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel,
6 let seven men of his descendants be deliveredto us, and we will hang them before theLordin Gibeah of Saul,whomtheLordchose.”
And the king said, “I will givethem.”
7 But the king sparedMephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because oftheLord’s oath thatwasbetween them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons ofRizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite;
9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hillbefore theLord. So they fell,allseven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the firstdays,in the beginning of barley harvest.
10 NowRizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock,from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
12 Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men ofJabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan, where thePhilistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa.
13 So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged.
14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin inZelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after thatGod heeded the prayer for the land.
Philistine Giants Destroyed
15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint.
16 Then Ishbi-Benob, whowasone of the sons of thegiant, the weight of whose bronze spearwasthree hundredshekels,who was bearing a newsword,thought he could kill David.
17 ButAbishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying,“You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench thelamp of Israel.”
18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. ThenSibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, whowasone of the sons of the giant.
19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, whereElhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killedthebrotherofGoliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spearwaslike a weaver’s beam.
20 Yet againthere was war at Gath, where there was a man ofgreatstature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant.
21 So when hedefied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.
22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.