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 de sua família sanguinária, por terem matado os gibeonitas".2 O rei então 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; mas Saul, em 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 de Saul ou de sua família prata ou ouro, nem queremos matar ninguém em Israel". Davi perguntou: "O que querem que eu faça por vocês? ",5 e 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 perante o Senhor, em Gibeá de Saul, no monte 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 perante o Senhor entre Davi e Jônatas, filho de Saul.8 Mas o rei mandou buscar Armoni e Mefibosete, dois filhos de Rispa, filha de Aiá, que ela teve com Saul, e os cinco filhos de Merabe, filha de Saul, que ela teve com Adriel, filho de Barzilai, de Meolá.9 Ele os entregou aos gibeonitas, que os executaram no monte, perante o 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 os tocassem de dia, nem os animais selvagens à noite.11 Quando Davi foi informado do que Rispa, filha de Aiá, concubina de Saul, havia feito,12 ele mandou recolher os ossos de Saul e de Jônatas, tomando-os dos cidadãos de Jabes-Gileade. ( Eles 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 seu filho Jônatas, que foram recolhidos dentre 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 ordenou. Depois disso, Deus respondeu as orações em favor da terra de Israel.15 Houve, ainda, outra batalha entre os filisteus e Israel; Davi e seus soldados foram lutar contra os filisteus. Davi se cansou muito,16 e Isbi-Benobe, descendente de Rafa, prometeu matar Davi. ( A ponta de bronze da lança de Isbi-Benobe pesava três quilos e seiscentos gramas, e ele ainda estava armado com uma espada nova. )17 Mas 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 não apagues a lâmpada de Israel".18 Houve depois outra batalha com os filisteus, em Gobe. Naquela ocasião Sibecai, de Husate, matou Safe, um dos descendentes de Rafa.19 Noutra batalha contra os filisteus em Gobe, Elanã, filho de Jaaré-Oregim, de Belém, matou Golias, de Gate, que possuía uma lança cuja haste parecia uma lançadeira de tecelão.20 Noutra batalha, em Gate, havia um homem de grande estatura e 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 Siméia, irmão de Davi, o matou.22 Esses quatro eram descendentes de Rafa, em Gate, e foram mortos por Davi e seus soldados.

1 There was a famine for three successive years during David’s reign. David asked Jehovah for advice about it. Jehovah answered: »It is because of Saul and his family. They are guilty of murder because they killed the people of Gibeon.«2 The Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were left over from the Amorites. The Israelites swore to spare them. Saul, in his eagerness, tried to destroy them for Israel and Judah. The king called the Gibeonites.3 He asked them: »What can I do for you? What shall I give you to make peace with you so that you will bless what belongs to Jehovah?«4 The Gibeonites responded: »Our quarrel with Saul and his family cannot be settled with silver or gold. We do not want to kill any Israelite.« What do you want me to do?« David asked.5 They answered: »Saul wanted to destroy us and leave none of us alive anywhere in Israel.6 »Hand over seven of his male descendants. We will hang them before Jehovah at Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, Jehovah’s chosen king.« The king responded: »I will hand them over to you.«7 David made a promise to Jonathan with Jehovah as his witness. He spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul.8 Saul and Rizpah the daughter of Aiah had two sons named Armoni and Mephibosheth. Saul’s daughter Merab had five sons whose father was Adriel the son of Barzillai from Meholah. David took Rizpah’s two sons and Merab’s five sons.9 He turned them over to the Gibeonites. They hanged all seven of them on the mountain near the place where Jehovah was worshiped. This happened right at the beginning of the barley harvest.10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah spread some sackcloth on a nearby rock. She would not let the birds land on the bodies during the day. She kept the wild animals away at night. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until it started to rain.11 The Philistines killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa and hung their bodies in the town square at Beth-Shan. The people of Jabesh in Gilead secretly took the bodies away. David found out what Saul’s wife Rizpah did. So he went to the leaders of Jabesh to get the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan.12 David took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shean, where the Philistines hung them the day they killed Saul at Gilboa.13 David brought the bones of Saul and Jonathan. His men also gathered the bones of those who had been executed.14 Then they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin, at Zela, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. They did everything the king ordered. After that God answered the prayers for the land.15 Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David and his men went to fight the Philistines. David became exhausted.16 A descendant of Haraphah named Benob had a copper spear weighing seven and one half pounds. He wore it on a new belt. He captured David and intended to kill him.17 Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue. Abishai attacked the giant and killed him. Then David’s men made David promise that he would never again go out with them to battle. »You are the hope of Israel. We do not want to lose you!« They said.18 After this there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Sibbecai from Hushah killed a giant named Saph a descendant of Rapha.19 There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem killed Goliath from Gath. Goliath’s spear had a shaft as thick as the bar on a weaver’s loom.20 There was another war, this time in Gath. One of the enemy soldiers was a descendant of the Rephaim. He was as big as a giant and had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.21 When he challenged Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him.22 These four were descendants of Haraphah from Gath. David and his men killed them.