1 Houve uma fome durante o reinado de David que durou três anos consecutivos, e David orou insistentemente por isso. Então o Senhor disse: Esta fome é por causa da maldade de Saul e da sua família sanguinária, que matou os gibeonitas.
2 O rei chamou os gibeonitas. Estes não faziam parte de Israel; eram o resto que ficou da nação dos amorreus. Israel jurara não os matar, mas Saul, no seu zelo nacionalista, tentou liquidá-los.
3 David perguntou-lhes: Que hei-de eu fazer por vocês, para que nos livremos desta culpa que recai sobre nós, e para que possamos enfim pedir a bênção de Deus?
4 Pois bem, dinheiro não resolve o caso, e também não pretendemos matar seja quem for dos israelitas como vingança.David perguntou: Então, que posso eu fazer? Digam-me o que acham e fá-lo-ei.
5 Então eles responderam: Dá-nos sete descendentes de Saul - esse homem que procurou destruir-nos. Enforcá-los-emos em Gibeão, a cidade daquele que foi do rei Saul.Está certo; farei isso, disse o rei.
7 No entanto poupou Mefibosete, filho de Jónatas e neto de Saul, devido ao juramento que fizera a Jónatas. Mas deu-lhes os dois filhos de Rizpa - Armoni e Mefibosete - que eram netos de Saul através da sua mulher Aia. Também lhes entregou cinco filhos de Merabe, filha de Saul, mulher de Adriel, e que tinham sido criados pela sua irmã Mical. Os homens de Gibeão enforcaram-nos na montanha perante o Senhor. Portanto, os sete morreram juntos no princípio da colheita da cevada.
10 Rispa, a mãe de dois dos homens, estendeu um saco de serapilheira sobre um rochedo e ali ficou guardando os cadáveres, durante toda a estação da sega , para evitar que as aves de rapina os despedaçassem, de dia, e também que os animais selvagens, de noite, os comessem. David, ao saber o que ela tinha feito, mandou que os ossos dos homens fossem enterrados no túmulo de Cis, o pai de Saul. Ao mesmo tempo enviou um pedido à população de Jabes-Gileade para que lhe trouxessem os ossos de Saul e Jónatas. Eles tinham furtado os corpos duma praça pública de Bete-Sã, onde os filisteus os tinham pendurado, depois de terem morrido na batalha do monte Gilboa. Foi dessa forma que os seus ossos lhe foram trazidos. O Senhor respondeu às orações e fez terminar aquela fome.
15 Uma vez em que os filisteus estavam em guerra com Israel, e em que David mais os seus homens se encontravam no aceso da luta, o rei ficou exausto e muito fraco.
16 Isbi-Benobe, um gigante, cuja lança pesava mais de cinco quilos, e que trazia uma nova armadura, aproximou-se de David com a intenção de o matar. Mas Abisai, o filho de Zeruía, chegou-se a tempo e matou o filisteu gigante. Na sequência desse incidente os homens de David disseram-lhe: Nunca mais voltarás a combater! Por que razão havíamos nós de correr o risco de se apagar a luz de Israel?
18 Mais tarde, durante uma guerra com os filisteus também em Gobe, Sibecai o husatita matou Safe, um outro gigante.
19 E ainda noutra peleja no mesmo sítio, El-Hanã matou o irmão de Golias o giteu, cuja lança era tão grande como a viga dum tecelão!
20 Noutra altura ainda, em que os filisteus e os israelitas estavam a combater em Gate, um gigante com seis dedos em cada mão e em cada pé injuriava a nação de Israel; Jónatas, sobrinho de David (filho de Simei, irmão do rei), matou-o.
22 Estes quatro gigantes pertenciam à tribo dos gigantes de Gate; foram pois mortos por elementos da tropa de David.
1 And there came to be a famine, in the days of David, for three years, year after year, so then David sought the face of Yahweh,and Yahweh saidIt respecteth Saul and his house, as to bloodshed, in that he put to death the Gibeonites.
2 The king therefore called the Gibeonites, and said unto them (now, the Gibeonites, were, not of the sons of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, with whom, the sons of Israel, had entered into an oath, and Saul had sought to smite them, in his jealousy for the sons of Israel and Judah)
3 wherefore David said unto the GibeonitesWhat shall I do for you, and wherewith shall I make propitiation, so that ye may bless the inheritance of Yahweh?
4 And the Gibeonites said unto himIt is not a matter with us of silver or gold, with Saul or with his house, neither would we have a man put to death in Israel. And he said,What do ye say I should do for you?
5 Then said they unto the king, The man who consumed us, and who thought to have destroyed us from taking a place within any of the bounds of Israel,
6 let there be delivered up to usseven men of his sons, and we will crucify them unto Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Yahweh. And the king said, I, will deliver them up.
7 But the king had pity upon Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, Sauls son,because of the oath of Yahweh that was between them, between David and Jonathan, Sauls son.
8 So the king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she had borne to Saul, even Armoni and Mephibosheth,and the five sons of Michal daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai, the Meholathite;
9 and delivered them up into the hand of the Gibeonites, and they crucified them in the mountain, before Yahweh, so they seven fell together,they being put to death in the first days of harvest, in the beginning of the barley harvest.
10 Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth, and spread it out for herself, on the rock, from the beginning of harvest, until water poured out upon them from the heavens,and suffered neither the birds of the heavens to rest on them by day, nor the wild beasts of the field, by night.
11 And it was told David,what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, Sauls concubine, had done.
12 So David went and fetched the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the owners of Jabesh-gilead,who stole them from the broadway of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day when the Philistines had smitten Saul in Gilboa;
13 and he brought up from thence the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son,and they gathered together the bones of them who had been crucified;
14 so they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin, in Zelah, in the grave of Kish his father, thus did they all that the king commanded,and God suffered himself to be entreated for the land, after this.
15 And the Philistines had yet again a war with Israel,so David went down, and his servants with him, and fought the Philistines, and David became faint.
16 So, Ishbi-benob, who was of the descendants of the giant, the weight of whose spear-head, was three hundred shekels of bronze, he also being newly armed, thought to smite David;
17 but Abishai son of Zeruiah, came to his help, and smote the Philistine, and slew him. Then, sware the men of David unto him, sayingThou must not go forth any more with us, to battle, that thou quench not the lamp of Israel.
18 And it came to pass, after this, that there was yet again a battle in Gob, with the Philistines,then, Sibbekai the Hushathite smote Saph, who was of the descendants of the giant.
19 And there was yet again a battle in Gob with the Philistines,when Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim of Bethlehem, smote Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weavers beam.
20 And there was yet again a battle in Gath; when there was a man of stature, with six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; he also, having been born to the giant;
21 but, when he reproached Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah Davids brother, smote, him.
22 These four, had been born to the giant in Gath,but they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.