1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.* 2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) 3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? 4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.* 5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,* 6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.* 7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:** 9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and 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 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. 11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa: 13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged. 14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint. 16 And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.** 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.* 18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.** 19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.* 20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.* 21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.** 22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

1 Durante o reinado de Davi, houve uma fome que durou três anos. Davi consultou o Senhor, que lhe disse:

― A fome veio por causa de Saul e da família sanguinária dele, por terem matado os gibeonitas.

2 Então, o rei mandou chamar os gibeonitas e falou com eles. Os gibeonitas não eram de origem israelita, mas remanescentes dos amorreus. Os israelitas tinham feito com eles um acordo sob juramento; Saul, porém, no seu zelo por Israel e Judá, havia tentado exterminá‑los. 3 Davi perguntou aos gibeonitas:

― Que posso fazer por vocês? Como posso reparar o que foi feito, para que abençoem a herança do Senhor?

4 Os gibeonitas responderam:

― Não exigimos nem prata nem ouro de Saul ou da família dele, nem queremos matar ninguém em Israel.

Davi perguntou:

― O que querem que eu faça por vocês?

5 Eles responderam:

― Quanto ao homem que quase nos exterminou e que pretendia destruir‑nos, para que não tivéssemos lugar em Israel, 6 que sete descendentes dele sejam executados diante do Senhor, em Gibeá de Saul, o escolhido do Senhor.

― Eu os entregarei a vocês — disse o rei.

7 O rei poupou Mefibosete, filho de Jônatas e neto de Saul, por causa do juramento feito diante do Senhor entre Davi e Jônatas, filho de Saul. 8 Mandou buscar, porém, Armoni e Mefibosete, os dois filhos que Rispa, filha de Aiá, tinha dado a Saul. Com eles também os cinco filhos que Merabe,* filha de Saul, tinha dado a Adriel, filho de Barzilai, de Meolá. 9 Ele os entregou aos gibeonitas, que os executaram no monte, diante do Senhor. Os sete foram mortos ao mesmo tempo, nos primeiros dias da colheita de cevada.

10 Então, Rispa, filha de Aiá, pegou um pano de saco e o estendeu para si sobre uma rocha. Desde o início da colheita até cair chuva do céu sobre os corpos, ela não deixou que as aves de rapina tocassem neles de dia nem os animais selvagens de noite. 11 Quando Davi foi informado do que Rispa, filha de Aiá, concubina de Saul, havia feito, 12 mandou recolher os ossos de Saul e de Jônatas, tomando‑os dos cidadãos de Jabes-Gileade. Estes haviam roubado os ossos da praça de Bete-Seã, onde os filisteus os tinham pendurado, no dia em que mataram Saul no monte Gilboa. 13 Davi trouxe de lá os ossos de Saul e de Jônatas, o seu filho, e também os ossos dos que haviam sido executados.

14 Enterraram os ossos de Saul e de Jônatas no túmulo de Quis, pai de Saul, em Zela, na terra de Benjamim, e fizeram tudo o que o rei tinha ordenado. Depois disso, Deus respondeu às orações em favor da terra de Israel.

15 Houve outra batalha entre os filisteus e Israel; Davi e os seus soldados foram lutar contra os filisteus. Davi ficou exausto, 16 e Isbi-Benobe, descendente de Rafa, prometeu matar Davi. O peso da ponta de bronze de sua lança era de trezentos siclos;* além disso, ele estava armado com uma espada nova. 17 Contudo, Abisai, filho de Zeruia, foi em socorro de Davi e matou o filisteu. Então, os soldados de Davi lhe juraram, dizendo:

― Nunca mais sairás conosco à guerra, para que a lâmpada de Israel não se apague.

18 Depois disso, houve ainda outra batalha contra os filisteus, em Gobe. Naquela ocasião, Sibecai, de Husate, matou Safe, um dos descendentes de Rafa.

19 Em outra batalha contra os filisteus em Gobe, Elanã, filho de Jaaré-Oregim,* de Belém, matou o irmão de* Golias, o giteu, que possuía uma lança cuja haste parecia uma lançadeira de tecelão.

20 Em outra batalha, em Gate, havia um homem de grande estatura que tinha seis dedos em cada mão e seis dedos em cada pé; vinte e quatro dedos ao todo. Ele também era descendente de Rafa 21 e desafiou Israel, mas Jônatas, filho de Simeia, irmão de Davi, o matou.

22 Esses quatro eram descendentes de Rafa, em Gate, e foram mortos por Davi e os seus soldados.