2 Samuel 21:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They said to the king, "The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel,

NIV: They answered the king, "As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel,

NASB: So they said to the king, 'The man who destroyed us and who planned to eliminate us so that we would not exist within any border of Israel—

CSB: They replied to the king, "As for the man who annihilated us and plotted to destroy us so we would not exist within the whole territory of Israel,

NLT: Then they replied, 'It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel.

KJV: And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,

NKJV: Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel,

Second Samuel 21:1–6 begins an explanation of how David pays Saul's lingering debt. God has put a famine on the land. When David asks why, he learns that in some unrecorded event, Saul and his household attacked the Gibeonites, These were Gentile residents with protected status (Joshua 9). David asks what the Gibeonites need to make it right. They want seven of Saul's sons so they can execute them (2 Samuel 21:1–6). David gives them two sons and five grandsons, and God lifts the famine (2 Samuel 21:7–14).

Second Samuel 21 records several varied stories of David's reign. A famine strikes the land because Saul and his household had attacked the Gibeonites, who had tricked Joshua into a treaty (Joshua 9). The Gibeonites ask for seven of Saul's descendants, whom they kill and hang in their city. Saul's concubine Rizpah protects them from birds and beasts until David orders them removed and buried in the family tomb. Next, David's men forcibly retire him from active military service and go on to slay several giant Philistine warriors. The battles against the giants are also recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:4–8.

Second Samuel 21 presents the first two levels of a mirrored view of David's reign (2 Samuel 21—24). First, David learns a famine is due to Saul's attack on the protected Gibeonites (Joshua 9). David gives them seven of Saul's male descendants, and God lifts the famine. In the second section, David retires from military service, and his men kill Philistine giants. The giants are also mentioned in 1 Chronicles 20:4–8. Section three is David's praise to God (2 Samuel 22:1—23:7). The fourth records David's mighty men's exploits (2 Samuel 23:8–38). The fifth is David's sinful census (2 Samuel 24).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.

Accessed 4/22/2026 9:09:11 AM