2 Samuel 4–5

¹And the son of Saul heareth that Abner is dead in Hebron, and his hands are feeble, and all Israel have been troubled. ²And two men, heads of troops, have been to the son of Saul, the name of the one is Baanah, and the name of the second Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin, for also Beeroth is reckoned to Benjamin, ³and the Beerothites flee to Gittaim, and are there sojourners unto this day. ⁴And to Jonathan son of Saul is a son—lame; he was a son of five years at the coming in of the rumour of the death of Saul and Jonathan, out of Jezreel, and his nurse lifteth him up, and fleeth, and it cometh to pass in her hasting to flee, that he falleth, and becometh lame, and his name is Mephibosheth. ⁵And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, go, and come in at the heat of the day unto the house of Ish-Bosheth, and he is lying down—the lying down of noon; ⁶and thither they have come, unto the midst of the house, taking wheat, and they smite him unto the fifth rib, and Rechab and Baanah his brother have escaped; ⁷yea, they come in to the house, and he is lying on his bed, in the inner part of his bed-chamber, and they smite him, and put him to death, and turn aside his head, and they take his head, and go the way of the plain all the night, ⁸and bring in the head of Ish-Bosheth unto David in Hebron, and say unto the king, ‘Lo, the head of Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, thine enemy, who sought thy life; and Jehovah doth give to my lord the king vengeance this day, of Saul and of his seed.’

⁹And David answereth Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and saith to them, ‘Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, ¹⁰when one is declaring to me, saying, Lo, Saul is dead, and he was as a bearer of tidings in his own eyes, then I take hold on him, and slay him in Ziklag, instead of my giving to him for the tidings. ¹¹Also—when wicked men have slain the righteous man in his own house, on his bed; and now, do not I require his blood of your hand, and have taken you away from the earth?’ ¹²And David commandeth the young men, and they slay them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hang them over the pool in Hebron, and the head of Ish-Bosheth they have taken, and bury it in the burying-place of Abner in Hebron.

Chapter 5

¹And all the tribes of Israel come unto David, to Hebron, and speak, saying, ‘Lo, we are thy bone and thy flesh; ²also heretofore, in Saul’s being king over us, thou hast been he who is bringing out and bringing in Israel, and Jehovah saith to thee, Thou dost feed My people Israel, and thou art for leader over Israel.’ ³And all the elders of Israel come unto the king, to Hebron, and king David maketh with them a covenant in Hebron before Jehovah, and they anoint David for king over Israel. ⁴A son of thirty years is David in his being king; forty years he hath reigned; ⁵in Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years, over all Israel and Judah.

⁶And the king goeth, and his men, to Jerusalem, unto the Jebusite, the inhabitant of the land, and they speak to David, saying, ‘Thou dost not come in hither, except thou turn aside the blind and the lame;’ saying, ‘David doth not come in hither.’ ⁷And David captureth the fortress of Zion, it is the city of David. ⁸And David saith on that day, ‘Any one smiting the Jebusite, (let him go up by the watercourse), and the lame and the blind—the hated of David’s soul,’—because the blind and lame say, ‘He doth not come into the house.’ ⁹And David dwelleth in the fortress, and calleth it—City of David, and David buildeth round about, from Millo and inward, ¹⁰and David goeth, going on and becoming great, and Jehovah, God of Hosts, is with him.

¹¹And Hiram king of Tyre sendeth messengers unto David, and cedar-trees, and artificers of wood, and artificers of stone, for walls, and they build a house for David, ¹²and David knoweth that Jehovah hath established him for king over Israel, and that He hath lifted up his kingdom, because of His people Israel. ¹³And David taketh again concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after his coming from Hebron, and there are born again to David sons and daughters. ¹⁴And these are the names of those born to him in Jerusalem: Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, ¹⁵and Ibhar, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia, ¹⁶and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet.

¹⁷And the Philistines hear that they have anointed David for king over Israel, and all the Philistines come up to seek David, and David heareth, and goeth down unto the fortress, ¹⁸and the Philistines have come, and are spread out in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹And David asketh of Jehovah, saying, ‘Do I go up unto the Philistines? dost Thou give them into my hand?’ And Jehovah saith unto David, ‘Go up, for I certainly give the Philistines into thy hand.’ ²⁰And David cometh in to Baal-Perazim, and David smiteth them there, and saith, ‘Jehovah hath broken forth on mine enemies before me, as the breaking forth of waters;’ therefore he hath called the name of that place Baal-Perazim. ²¹And they forsake there their idols, and David and his men lift them up. ²²And the Philistines add again to come up, and are spread out in the valley of Rephaim, ²³and David asketh of Jehovah, and He saith, ‘Thou dost not go up, turn round unto their rear, and thou hast come to them over-against the mulberries, ²⁴and it cometh to pass, in thy hearing the sound of a stepping in the tops of the mulberries, then thou dost move sharply, for then hath Jehovah gone out before thee to smite in the camp of the Philistines.’ ²⁵And David doth so, as Jehovah commanded him, and smiteth the Philistines from Geba unto thy coming to Gazer.

Chapter 6