2 Samuel 4–5

CHAPTER 4

Ish-bosheth Put to Death

¹Then ¹Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son heard that ^aAbner had died in Hebron. And ^2bhe lost courage, and all Israel was dismayed.

²Now Saul’s son had two men who were commanders of bands: the name of the one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin (for ^aBeeroth is also considered ^bpart of Benjamin,

³and the Beerothites fled to ^aGittaim and have been sojourners there until this day).

⁴Now ^aJonathan, Saul’s son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the ^breport of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and became lame. And his name was ^1cMephibosheth.

⁵So the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went forth and came to the house of ^aIsh-bosheth in the heat of the day while he was taking his midday rest.

⁶¹They came to the middle of the house as ²if to get wheat, and ^athey struck him in the belly; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

⁷Thus they came into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, and they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. And they took his head and ^awent on the way leading to the Arabah all night.

⁸Then they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth ^athe son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus Yahweh has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his seed.”

⁹And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As Yahweh lives, ^awho has redeemed my life from all distress,

^10awhen one told me, saying, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and ¹thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.

¹¹“How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now ^arequire his blood from your hand and purge you from the earth?”

¹²Then ^aDavid commanded the young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth ^band buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.

CHAPTER 5

David Anointed King over All Israel

^1aThen all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and ¹said, “Behold, we are ^byour bone and your flesh.

²“Previously, when Saul was king over us, ^ayou were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and Yahweh said to you, ‘^bYou will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ^ca ruler over Israel.’”

³So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David ^acut a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; then ^bthey anointed David king over Israel.

⁴Now David was ^athirty years old when he became king, and ^bhe reigned forty years.

⁵At Hebron ^ahe reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

^6aThen the king and his men went to ^bJerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, and they said to ¹David, “You shall not come in here, but the blind and lame will turn you away”; ²thinking, “David cannot enter here.”

⁷Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, that is ^athe city of David.

⁸And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul, through the water tunnel.” Therefore they say, “The blind or the lame shall not come into the house.”

⁹Then David lived in the fortress and called it ^athe city of David. And David built all around from the ^1bMillo and inward.

^10aAnd David became greater and greater, and Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him.

^11aThen Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and craftsmen of wood and craftsmen of stone walls; and ^bthey built a house for David.

¹²Thus David knew that Yahweh had established him as king over Israel, and that He had lifted up his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

Children Born to David in Jerusalem

¹³And ^aDavid took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron; and more sons and daughters were born to David.

¹⁴Now ^athese are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

¹⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

¹⁶Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.

David Goes Up Against the Philistines

¹⁷Then the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, so ^aall the Philistines went up to seek out David. And David heard of it and went down to the ^bfortress.

¹⁸Now the Philistines had come and spread themselves out in ^athe valley of Rephaim.

¹⁹Then ^aDavid asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You give them into my hand?” And ^bYahweh said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.”

²⁰So David came to ^aBaal-perazim, and there David struck them down; and he said, “Yahweh has broken through my enemies before me, like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore he named that place ¹Baal-perazim.

²¹And they forsook their idols there; so ^aDavid and his men carried them away.

²²Then ^athe Philistines yet again came up and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim.

²³So ^aDavid asked of Yahweh, and He said, “You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the ¹balsam trees.

²⁴“And it will be that when ^ayou hear the sound of marching in the tops of the ¹balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then ^bYahweh will have gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

²⁵Then David did so, just as Yahweh had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from ^1aGeba ²as far as ^bGezer.