David Avenges the Gibeonites

1And there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David inquired of YHWH.

And YHWH answered, “Because of Saul and his house is the blood, on account that he killed the Gibeonites.”

2And the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (And the Gibeonites, they were not of the sons of Israel, for they were only of the remnant of the Amorite. And the sons of Israel had sworn protection to them, and Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah.)

3And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you⁺, and with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of YHWH?”

4And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, and no man to put to death in Israel.”

And he said, “What are you⁺ saying I can do for you⁺.”

5And they answered to the king, “The man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, 6let be given to us seven men of his sons, and we will hang them† before YHWH in Gibeah of Saul, chosen by YHWH.”

And the king said, “I will give them.”

7And the king had pity on Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul, because of the oath of YHWH that was between them, between David and between Jonathan son of Saul. 8And the king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Merab† daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite, 9and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the face of YHWH. And they fell seven together, and they were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days in the beginning of the harvest of barley.

10And Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and she spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the heavens to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

11And David was told what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead who had stolen them from the broad place of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them there after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa.

13And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. 14And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father.

And they performed all that the king commanded, and God heeded the prayer for the land after that.

Four Battles against the Philistines
(1 Chronicles 20:4–8)

15And again were the Philistines at war with Israel, and David went down, and his servants with him, and they fought against the Philistines, and David grew faint.

16And Ishbi-benob, who was one of the sons of Rapha—† and the weight of his spear was three hundred shekels of bronze in weight,† and he was bearing a new one—spoke of striking David. 17And Abishai son of Zeruiah came to aid him 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 the lamp of Israel.”

18And it came to pass after thus, that the battle there was again at Gob with the Philistines. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph,† who was one of the sons of Rapha.

19And there was war again at Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim† the Bethlehemite struck the brother of Goliath† the Gittite, and the shaft of his spear was like a weavers’ beam.

20And there was war again at Gath, where there was a man of stature, and the fingers of his hands were six, and the toes of his feet six—twenty-four in number. And also he was born from Rapha. 21And he defied Israel, and Jonathan son of Shimei† the brother of David killed him.

22These four were born of Rapha in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Footnotes:

6 Or expose them or execute them; similarly in verse 9
8 Two Hebrew manuscripts, some LXX manuscripts, and Syriac (see also 1 Samuel 18:19); most Hebrew and LXX manuscripts Michal
16 Or of the giant; also in verses 18, 20, and 22
16 300 shekels is approximately 7.5 pounds or 3.4 kilograms.
18 Saph is a variant of Sippai; see 1 Chronicles 20:4.
19 Or Son of Jair; see 1 Chronicles 20:5.
19 See 1 Chronicles 20:5; Hebrew does not include the brother of.
21 Shimei is a variant of Shammah, Shimeah, and Shimea; see 1 Samuel 16:9, 2 Samuel 13:3, and 1 Chronicles 2:13.