¹And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of Jehovah. And Jehovah said, It is for Saul, and for his house of blood, because he slew the Gibeonites. ²And the king called the Gibeonites, and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remainder of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn to them; and Saul sought to smite them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.) ³And David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and with what shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of Jehovah? ⁴And the Gibeonites said to him, As to Saul and his house, it is with us no question of receiving silver or gold, neither is it for us to have any man put to death in Israel. And he said, What ye say will I do for you. ⁵And they said to the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in all the borders of Israel, ⁶let seven men of his sons be given up to us, and we will hang them up to Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will give them. ⁷But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of Jehovah’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. ⁸And the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she had borne to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of the sister of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; ⁹and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before Jehovah. And they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the first days of the harvest, in the beginning of barley harvest.

¹⁰Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water poured on them out of the heavens, and suffered neither the fowl of the heavens to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. ¹¹And it was told David what Rizpah the 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 open place of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, the day the Philistines had smitten Saul in Gilboa; ¹³and 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. ¹⁴And they buried them with the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the sepulchre of Kish his father; and they did all that the king had commanded. And afterwards God was propitious to the land.

¹⁵And the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought with the Philistines. And David was exhausted. ¹⁶And Ishbibenob, who was of the children of Raphah—the weight of his lance was three hundred shekels of bronze, and he was girded with new armour —thought to smite David. ¹⁷And Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the lamp of Israel. ¹⁸And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines, at Gob; then Sibbechai the Hushathite smote Saph, who was of the children of Raphah. ¹⁹And there was again a battle at Gob with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, smote Goliath the Gittite; now the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. ²⁰And there was again a battle, at Gath; and there was a man there of great stature, that had on each hand six fingers, and on each foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to Raphah. ²¹And he defied Israel; but Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother smote him. ²²These four were born to Raphah, in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Chapter 22

¹And David spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.

²And he said, Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; ³God is my rock, in him will I trust—My shield, and the horn of my salvation, My high tower, and my refuge, My saviour: thou wilt save me from violence. ⁴I will call upon Jehovah, who is to be praised; So shall I be saved from mine enemies. ⁵For the waves of death encompassed me, Torrents of Belial made me afraid. ⁶The bands of Sheol surrounded me; The cords of death encountered me; ⁷In my distress I called upon Jehovah, And I cried to my God; And he heard my voice out of his temple, And my cry came into his ears. ⁸Then the earth shook, and quaked; The foundations of the heavens trembled And shook because he was wroth. ⁹There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals burned forth from it. ¹⁰And he bowed the heavens, and came down; And darkness was under his feet. ¹¹And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; And he was seen upon the wings of the wind. ¹²And he made darkness round about him a tent, Gatherings of waters, thick clouds of the skies. ¹³From the brightness before him Burned forth coals of fire. ¹⁴Jehovah thundered from the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice. ¹⁵And he sent arrows, and scattered mine enemies; Lightning, and discomfited them. ¹⁶And the beds of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At the rebuke of Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils. ¹⁷He reached forth from above, he took me, He drew me out of great waters; ¹⁸He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; For they were mightier than I. ¹⁹They encountered me in the day of my calamity; But Jehovah was my stay. ²⁰And he brought me forth into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me. ²¹Jehovah hath rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. ²²For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not wickedly departed from my God. ²³For all his ordinances were before me, And his statutes, I did not depart from them, ²⁴And I was upright before him, And kept myself from mine iniquity. ²⁵And Jehovah hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his sight. ²⁶With the gracious thou dost shew thyself gracious; With the upright man thou dost shew thyself upright; ²⁷With the pure thou dost shew thyself pure; And with the perverse thou dost shew thyself contrary. ²⁸And the afflicted people thou dost save; And thine eyes are upon the haughty, whom thou bringest down. ²⁹For thou art my lamp, Jehovah; And Jehovah enlighteneth my darkness. ³⁰For by thee I have run through a troop; By my God have I leaped over a wall. ³¹As for •God, his way is perfect; The word of Jehovah is tried: He is a shield to all that trust in him. ³²For who is •God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, save our God? ³³•God is my strong fortress, And he maketh my way perfectly smooth. ³⁴He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, And setteth me upon my high places. ³⁵He teacheth my hands to war, And mine arms bend a bow of brass. ³⁶And thou didst give me the shield of thy salvation, And thy condescending gentleness hath made me great. ³⁷Thou enlargedst my steps under me; And mine ankles did not slip. ³⁸I pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them, And I turned not again till they were consumed. ³⁹And I have consumed them and have crushed them, and they rose not again; Yea, they fell under my feet. ⁴⁰And thou girdedst me with strength to battle: Thou didst subdue under me those that rose up against me. ⁴¹And mine enemies didst thou make to turn their backs unto me, And those that hated me I destroyed. ⁴²They looked, and there was none to save—Unto Jehovah, and he answered them not. ⁴³And I did beat them small as the dust of the earth, I trod them as the mire of the streets; I stamped upon them. ⁴⁴And thou hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, Thou hast kept me to be head of the nations: A people I knew not doth serve me: ⁴⁵Strangers come cringing unto me: At the hearing of the ear, they obey me. ⁴⁶Strangers have faded away, And they come trembling forth from their close places. ⁴⁷Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God, the rock of my salvation, ⁴⁸The •God who hath avenged me, And hath brought the peoples under me. ⁴⁹He brought me forth from mine enemies: Yea, thou hast lifted me up above them that rose up against me; From the man of violence hast thou delivered me. ⁵⁰Therefore will I give thanks to thee, Jehovah, among the nations, And will sing psalms to thy name. ⁵¹It is he who giveth great deliverances to his king, And sheweth loving-kindness to his anointed, To David, and to his seed for evermore.

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