2 Samuel 21-22

New King James Version

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.” ²So 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.

³Therefore 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?”

⁴And 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.”

⁵Then 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, ⁶let 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.”

⁷But 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. ⁸So 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; ⁹and 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.

¹⁰Now ^(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.

¹¹And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. ¹²Then 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. ¹³So 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. ¹⁴They 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)

¹⁵When 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. ¹⁶Then 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. ¹⁷But ^(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. ¹⁹Again 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.

²⁰Yet 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. ²¹So 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.

Praise for God’s Deliverance^(AD)

22 Then David ^(AE)spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had ^(AF)delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. ²And he ^(AG)said:

^(AH)“The Lord is my rock and my ^(AI)fortress and my deliverer;
³The God of my strength, ^(AJ)in whom I will trust;
My ^(AK)shield and the ^(AL)horn^[l] of my salvation,
My ^(AM)stronghold and my ^(AN)refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.
⁴I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁵“When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness ^[m]made me afraid.
⁶The ^(AO)sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
⁷In my distress ^(AP)I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He ^(AQ)heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.

⁸“Then ^(AR)the earth shook and trembled;
^(AS)The foundations of ^[n]heaven quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
⁹Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring ^(AT)fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
¹⁰He ^(AU)bowed the heavens also, and came down
With ^(AV)darkness under His feet.
¹¹He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
And He ^[o]was seen ^(AW)upon the wings of the wind.
¹²He made ^(AX)darkness canopies around Him,
Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
¹³From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.

¹⁴“The Lord ^(AY)thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
¹⁵He sent out ^(AZ)arrows and scattered them;
Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.
¹⁶Then the channels of the sea ^(BA)were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered,
At the ^(BB)rebuke of the Lord,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

¹⁷“He^(BC) sent from above, He took me,
He drew me out of many waters.
¹⁸He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me;
For they were too strong for me.
¹⁹They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my ^(BD)support.
²⁰^(BE)He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He ^(BF)delighted in me.

²¹“The^(BG) Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the ^(BH)cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
²²For I have ^(BI)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
²³For all His ^(BJ)judgments were before me;
And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them.
²⁴I was also ^(BK)blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity.
²⁵Therefore ^(BL)the Lord has ^[p]recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to ^[q]my cleanness in His eyes.

²⁶“With ^(BM)the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
²⁷With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And ^(BN)with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
²⁸You will save the ^(BO)humble^[r] people;
But Your eyes are on ^(BP)the haughty, that You may bring them down.

²⁹“For You are my ^(BQ)lamp, O Lord;
The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.
³⁰For by You I can run against a troop;
By my God I can leap over a ^(BR)wall.
³¹As for God, ^(BS)His way is perfect;
^(BT)The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

³²“For ^(BU)who is God, except the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?
³³^[s]God is my ^(BV)strength and power,
And He ^(BW)makes ^[t]my way ^(BX)perfect.
³⁴He makes ^[u]my feet ^(BY)like the feet of deer,
And ^(BZ)sets me on my high places.
³⁵He teaches my hands ^[v]to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your gentleness has made me great.
³⁷You ^(CA)enlarged my path under me;
So my feet did not slip.

³⁸“I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
³⁹And I have destroyed them and wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen ^(CB)under my feet.
⁴⁰For You have ^(CC)armed me with strength for the battle;
You have ^[w]subdued under me ^(CD)those who rose against me.
⁴¹You have also ^[x]given me the ^(CE)necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
⁴²They looked, but there was none to save;
Even ^(CF)to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
⁴³Then I beat them as fine ^(CG)as the dust of the earth;
I trod them ^(CH)like dirt in the streets,
And I ^[y]spread them out.

⁴⁴“You^(CI) have also delivered me from the ^[z]strivings of my people;
You have kept me as the ^(CJ)head of the nations.
^(CK)A people I have not known shall serve me.
⁴⁵The foreigners submit to me;
As soon as they hear, they obey me.
⁴⁶The foreigners fade away,
And ^[aa]come frightened ^(CL)from their hideouts.

⁴⁷“The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let God be exalted,
The ^(CM)Rock of my salvation!
⁴⁸It is God who avenges me,
And ^(CN)subdues the peoples under me;
⁴⁹He delivers me from my enemies.
You also lift me up above those who rise against me;
You have delivered me from the ^(CO)violent man.
⁵⁰Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among ^(CP)the Gentiles,
And sing praises to Your ^(CQ)name.

⁵¹“He^(CR) is the tower of salvation to His king,
And shows mercy to His ^(CS)anointed,
To David and ^(CT)his descendants forevermore.”

Footnotes

2 Samuel 21:1 Lit. house of bloodshed
2 Samuel 21:8 Merab, 1 Sam. 18:19; 25:44; 2 Sam. 3:14; 6:23
2 Samuel 21:8 Lit. bore to Adriel
2 Samuel 21:12 Beth Shean, Josh. 17:11
2 Samuel 21:16 Or Rapha
2 Samuel 21:18 Sippai, 1 Chr. 20:4
2 Samuel 21:18 Or Rapha
2 Samuel 21:19 Jair, 1 Chr. 20:5
2 Samuel 21:20 Or Rapha
2 Samuel 21:21 Shammah, 1 Sam. 16:9 and elsewhere
2 Samuel 21:22 Or Rapha
2 Samuel 22:3 Strength
2 Samuel 22:5 Or overwhelmed
2 Samuel 22:8 So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Syr., Vg. hills (cf. Ps. 18:7)
2 Samuel 22:11 So with MT, LXX; many Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. flew (cf. Ps. 18:10); Tg. spoke with power
2 Samuel 22:25 rewarded
2 Samuel 22:25 LXX, Syr., Vg. the cleanness of my hands in His sight (cf. Ps. 18:24); Tg. my cleanness before His word
2 Samuel 22:28 afflicted
2 Samuel 22:33 DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. It is God who arms me with strength (cf. Ps. 18:32); Tg. It is God who sustains me with strength
2 Samuel 22:33 So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:32); Kt. His
2 Samuel 22:34 So with Qr., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:33); Kt. His
2 Samuel 22:35 Lit. for the war
2 Samuel 22:40 Lit. caused to bow down
2 Samuel 22:41 given me victory over
2 Samuel 22:43 scattered
2 Samuel 22:44 contentions
2 Samuel 22:46 So with LXX, Tg., Vg. (cf. Ps. 18:45); MT gird themselves