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2 S A MU EL 2 1
is peace loving and faithful in Israel. But you
are destroying an important town in Israel.*
Why do you want to devour what belongs to
the Lord?”
20 And Joab replied, “Believe me, I don’t want
to devour or destroy your town! 21 That’s not my
purpose. All I want is a man named Sheba son
of Bicri from the hill country of Ephraim, who
has revolted against King David. If you hand
over this one man to me, I will leave the town
in peace.”
“All right,” the woman replied, “we will
throw his head over the wall to you.” 22 Then
the woman went to all the people with her wise
advice, and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw
it out to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and
called his troops back from the attack. They all
returned to their homes, and Joab returned to
the king at Jerusalem.
— promises —
from God
“God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises
prove true. He is a shield
for all who look to him
for protection.”
2 SA M U E L 2 2 :31
23 Now Joab was the commander of the army
of Israel. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain
of the king’s bodyguard. 24 Adoniram* was in
charge of forced labor. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. 25 Sheva was the
court secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the
priests. 26 And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was
David’s personal priest.
David Avenges the Gibeonites
There was a famine during David’s reign
that lasted for three years, so David
asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, “The
famine has come because Saul and his family
are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites.”
2 So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They
were not part of Israel but were all that was left
of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his
zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them
out. 3 David asked them, “What can I do for you?
How can I make amends so that you will bless
the Lord’s people again?”
4 “Well, money can’t settle this matter between us and the family of Saul,” the Gibeonites
replied. “Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel.”
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“What can I do then?” David asked. “Just tell
me and I will do it for you.”
5 Then they replied, “It was Saul who planned
to destroy us, to keep us from having any place
at all in the territory of Israel. 6 So let seven of
Saul’s sons be handed over to us, and we will
execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the
mountain of the Lord.*”
“All right,” the king said, “I will do it.” 7 The
king spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth,*
who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath
David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord.
8 But he gave them Saul’s two sons Armoni
and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the
five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab,* the wife of
Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah. 9 The men
of Gibeon executed them on the mountain before the Lord. So all seven of them died together
at the beginning of the barley harvest.
10 Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the mother
of two of the men, spread burlap on a rock and
stayed there the entire harvest season. She
prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at
their bodies during the day and stopped wild
animals from eating them at night. 11 When David learned what Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had
done, 12 he went to the people of Jabesh-gilead
and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. (When the Philistines had killed Saul
and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, the people of
Jabesh-gilead stole their bodies from the public
square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had
hung them.) 13 So David obtained the bones of
Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of the
men the Gibeonites had executed.
14 Then the king ordered that they bury the
bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father, at the
town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that,
God ended the famine in the land.
Battles against Philistine Giants
15 Once again the Philistines were at war with
Israel. And when David and his men were in
the thick of battle, David became weak and exhausted. 16 Ishbi-benob was a descendant of the
giants*; his bronze spearhead weighed more
than seven pounds,* and he was armed with
a new sword. He had cornered David and was
about to kill him. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah
came to David’s rescue and killed the Philistine.
Then David’s men declared, “You are not going
out to battle with us again! Why risk snuffing
out the light of Israel?”
20:19 Hebrew a town that is a mother in Israel. 20:24 As in
Greek version (see also 1 Kgs 4:6; 5:14); Hebrew reads Adoram.
21:6 As in Greek version (see also 21:9); Hebrew reads at Gibeah
of Saul, the chosen of the Lord. 21:7 Mephibosheth is another
name for Merib-baal. 21:8 As in a few Hebrew and Greek
manuscripts and Syriac version (see also 1 Sam 18:19); most
Hebrew manuscripts read Michal. 21:16a Or a descendant of
the Rapha; also in 21:18, 20, 22. 21:16b Hebrew 300 [shekels]
[3.4 kilograms].