2 Samuel 4–5

Chapter 4

Ish-bosheth Murdered

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

²Saul’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 aliens 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, departed 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.

⁷Now when they came into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and killed him and beheaded him. And they took his head and ^1atraveled by way of 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 the Lord has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his ¹descendants.”

⁹David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the Lord 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 ¹destroy 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 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 Israel out and in. And the Lord 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 ^amade a covenant with them before the Lord at Hebron; then ^bthey anointed David king over Israel.

⁴David 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.

^6aNow 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 stronghold of Zion, that is ^athe city of David.

⁸David said on that day, “Whoever would strike 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.”

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

^10aDavid became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him.

^11aThen Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and ^bthey built a house for David.

¹²And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.

¹³Meanwhile ^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.

War with the Philistines

¹⁷When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, ^aall the Philistines went up to seek out David; and when David heard of it, he went down to the ^bstronghold.

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

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

²⁰So David came to ^aBaal-perazim and ¹defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore he named that place ²Baal-perazim.

²¹They abandoned their idols there, so ^aDavid and his men carried them away.

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

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

²⁴“It shall be, when ^ayou hear the sound of marching in the tops of the ¹balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then ^bthe Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”

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