2 Samuel 21:1-14

Contemporary English Version

The Gibeonites Hang Saul's Descendants

21 While David was king, there were three years in a row when the nation of Israel could not grow enough food. So David asked the Lord for help, and the Lord answered, “Saul and his family are guilty of murder, because he had the Gibeonites killed.”

²^(A) The Gibeonites were not Israelites; they were descendants of the Amorites. The people of Israel had promised not to kill them,^[a] but Saul had tried to kill them because he wanted Israel and Judah to control all the land.

David had the Gibeonites come, and he talked with them. ³He said, “What can I do to make up for what Saul did, so that you'll ask the Lord to be kind to his people again?”^[b]

⁴The Gibeonites answered, “Silver and gold from Saul and his family are not enough. On the other hand, we don't have the right to put any Israelite to death.”

David said, “I'll do whatever you ask.”^[c]

⁵They replied, “Saul tried to kill all our people so that none of us would be left in the land of Israel. ⁶Give us seven of his descendants. We will hang^[d] these men near the place where the Lord is worshiped in Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, the Lord's chosen king.”

“I'll give them to you,” David said.

⁷^(B) David had made a promise to Jonathan with the Lord as his witness, so he spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul. ⁸^(C) But Saul and Rizpah the daughter of Aiah had two sons named Armoni and Mephibosheth. Saul's daughter Merab^[e] had five sons whose father was Adriel the son of Barzillai from Meholah.^[f] David took Rizpah's two sons and Merab's five sons and ⁹turned them over to the Gibeonites, who hanged^[g] all seven of them on the mountain near the place where the Lord was worshiped. This happened right at the beginning of the barley harvest.^[h]

Rizpah Takes Care of the Bodies

¹⁰Rizpah spread out some sackcloth^[i] on a nearby rock. She wouldn't let the birds land on the bodies during the day, and she kept the wild animals away at night. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until it started to rain.^[j]

The Burial of Saul and His Descendants

^11-12^(D) Earlier the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa and had hung their bodies in the town square at Beth-Shan. The people of Jabesh in Gilead had secretly taken the bodies away, but David found out what Saul's wife^[k] Rizpah had done, and he went to the leaders of Jabesh to get the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. ^13-14David had their bones taken to the land of Benjamin and buried in a side room in Saul's family burial place. Then he gave orders for the bones of the men who had been hanged^[l] to be buried there. It was done, and God answered prayers to bless the land.

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Footnotes

21.2 promised … them: See Joshua 9.3-27.
21.3 ask … again: Saul's guilt had become a curse on Israel that had resulted in famine. For the effects of this curse to be removed, the Gibeonites would have to ask the Lord to be kind to Israel.
21.4 I'll … ask: Or “What are you asking me to do for you?”
21.6 hang: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
21.8 Merab: Some Hebrew manuscripts and some manuscripts of one ancient translation. Most other manuscripts have “Michal,” Saul's daughter who was one of David's wives, but she never had any children (see 2 Samuel 6.23). According to 1 Samuel 18.19, Merab was Saul's daughter, and she married Adriel from Meholah.
21.8 Meholah: Also known as Abel-Meholah.
21.9 hanged: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
21.9 This … harvest: This would have been late in April.
21.10 sackcloth: See the note at 3.31.
21.10 started to rain: This may have been the beginning of the rainy season in September or October. It usually didn't rain from May to September. Or, it may have been a sign that now there would be enough rain again.
21.11,12 wife: See the note at 3.7.
21.13,14 hanged: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.