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Sauls söner avrättas

21 Under Davids regeringstid inträffade en hungersnöd som varade oavbrutet i tre år. David sökte Herren, och han svarade: Hungersnöden beror på att Saul och hans familj mördade gibeoniterna.

Då samlade kung David gibeoniterna och talade till dem. De var inte israeliter, utan överlevande från amo reerna. Israel hade svurit att inte döda dem, men Saul hade i sin nationalistiska iver försökt att utplåna dem.

David frågade: Vad kan jag göra för er, så att vi kan försonas? Vad kan vi göra för att förmå er att be Gud välsigna oss?

Vi har ingen rätt att begära ersättning i silver eller guld från Sauls familj, svarade gibeoniterna. Och inte heller kan vi kräva några israeliters liv.Vad kan jag då göra? frågade David.

5-6 De svarade: Ge oss sju av Sauls söner, manliga ättlingar till den man som gjorde sitt yttersta för att utplåna oss. Vi ska döda dem inför Herren i Gibea, Sauls egen stad.Kungen svarade: Ni ska få vad ni har begärt.

På grund av den ed som David och Jonatan hade svurit varandra skonades emellertid Mefiboset, som var Jonatans son och alltså sonson till Saul.

Men David gav dem Armoni och Mefiboset, som Ajas dotter Rispa fått med Saul. Han gav dem också Sauls dotter Merabs söner, som hon fått med meholatiten Adriel, Barsillais son.

Männen i Gibeon spetsade dem på pålar och lät deras kroppar ligga kvar inför Herren på en kulle. Detta hände på våren, just som man hade börjat med kornskörden.

10 Då lade Rispa, mor till två av dem, ut säcktyg på klippan och stannade där ända tills det efterlängtade regnet kom, för att hindra gamarna att slita sönder kropparna under dagen och de vilda djuren från att äta dem under natten.

11 När David fick reda på detta

12-14 visade han respekt för hennes handling genom att hämta Sauls och Jonatans kvarlevor från Jabes-Gilead. Invånarna där hade rövat bort deras kroppar från torget i Bet-San, där filisteerna hade hängt upp dem på pålar efter det att de fallit på berget Gilboa. David tog också vara på kropparna efter de avrättade sju männen. Sauls och Jonatans ben lades i Sauls far Kis grav i Benjamin. Sedan svarade Gud igen på bön och gjorde slut på hungersnöden.

15 Det blev flera drabbningar med filisteerna. En gång när David och hans män var mitt i stridens hetta, blev David trött och utmattad.

16 En storväxt man som hette Jisbo-Benon närmade sig då David och tänkte döda honom. Spetsen på hans lans vägde flera kilo, och han var klädd i en ny rustning.

17 Men Abisai, Serujas son, kom till Davids hjälp och dödade filisteen. Efter detta sa männen bestämt till David: Du ska inte gå ut i strid igen! Varför ska vi riskera att Israels ljus slocknar?

Davids män dödar jättar

18 Under en annan strid med filisteerna i Gob dödade husatiten Sibbekai en storväxt man från Rafa som hette Saf,

19 och vid en annan strid på samma plats dödade Elhanan brodern till gatiten Goljat, han som hade en lans lika kraftig som en vävbom.

20-21 En annan gång när filisteerna och israeliterna stred vid Gat, kämpade de mot en jätte från Rafa med sex fingrar på varje hand och sex tår på varje fot. När han hånade Israel dödades han av Davids brorson Jonatan, son till Davids bror Simea.

22 Alla dessa fyra kom från jättarnas stam i Gat, och de blev dödade av Davids män.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David (A)inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his [a]bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but (B)of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them (C)in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.

Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless (D)the inheritance of the Lord?”

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.”

Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, let seven men of his descendants be delivered (E)to us, and we will hang them before the Lord (F)in Gibeah of Saul, (G)whom the Lord chose.”

And the king said, “I will give them.

But the king spared (H)Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of (I)the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of (J)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of [b]Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she [c]brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill (K)before the Lord. So 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.

10 Now (L)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, (M)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 of (N)Jabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of [d]Beth Shan, where the (O)Philistines 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 in (P)Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that (Q)God heeded the prayer for the land.

Philistine Giants Destroyed(R)

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, who was one of the sons of [e]the (S)giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But (T)Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, (U)“You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the (V)lamp of Israel.”

18 (W)Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then (X)Sibbechai the Hushathite killed [f]Saph, who was one of the sons of [g]the giant. 19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where (Y)Elhanan the son of [h]Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed (Z)the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

20 Yet again (AA)there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to [i]the giant. 21 So when he (AB)defied Israel, Jonathan the son of [j]Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

22 (AC)These four were born to [k]the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 21:1 Lit. house of bloodshed
  2. 2 Samuel 21:8 Merab, 1 Sam. 18:19; 25:44; 2 Sam. 3:14; 6:23
  3. 2 Samuel 21:8 Lit. bore to Adriel
  4. 2 Samuel 21:12 Beth Shean, Josh. 17:11
  5. 2 Samuel 21:16 Or Rapha
  6. 2 Samuel 21:18 Sippai, 1 Chr. 20:4
  7. 2 Samuel 21:18 Or Rapha
  8. 2 Samuel 21:19 Jair, 1 Chr. 20:5
  9. 2 Samuel 21:20 Or Rapha
  10. 2 Samuel 21:21 Shammah, 1 Sam. 16:9 and elsewhere
  11. 2 Samuel 21:22 Or Rapha

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David (A)sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but (B)of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless (C)the heritage of the Lord?” The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at (D)Gibeah of Saul, (E)the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of (F)the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. The king took the two sons of (G)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab[a] the daughter of Saul, whom (H)she bore to (I)Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, (J)at the beginning of barley harvest.

10 (K)Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. 11 When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, (L)who had stolen them from the public square of (M)Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in (N)Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that (O)God responded to the plea for the land.

War with the Philistines

15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants (P)of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels[b] of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, (Q)“You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench (R)the lamp of Israel.”

18 (S)After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then (T)Sibbecai (U)the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants (V)of the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and (W)Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, (X)the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.[c] 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended (Y)from the giants. 21 And when (Z)he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended (AA)from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 21:8 Two Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts Michal
  2. 2 Samuel 21:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  3. 2 Samuel 21:19 Contrast 1 Chronicles 20:5, which may preserve the original reading