1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David besought the face of Jehovah. And Jehovah answered, It is because of Saul and his bloody house, because he had killed the Gibeonites.

2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites. The children of Israel had sworn peace to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.)

3 Therefore 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 Jehovah?

4 And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us. So he said, Whatever you say, I will do for you.

5 And they answered the king, As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us, that we should be annihilated from remaining in any of the territories of Israel,

6 let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them before Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, whom Jehovah chose. And the king said, I will deliver them.

7 But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath of Jehovah that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she had borne to Saul; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite;

9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before Jehovah. So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, at the beginning of barley harvest.

10 Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the waters 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.

11 And David was told 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 who had stolen them from the town square of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa.

13 And he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged.

14 And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. Thus they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land.

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

16 And Ishbi-Benob, who was of the sons of the giants, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of bronze, who was bearing a new sword, intended to kill David.

17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped 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, that you not quench the lamp of Israel.

18 And it happened after this that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was of the sons of the giants.

19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed one from Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

20 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giants.

21 And when he reproached Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

22 These four were born to the giants 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 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.