2 Samuel 21:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord." And the king said, "I will give them."

NIV: let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen one." So the king said, "I will give them to you."

NASB: let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.' And the king said, 'I will give them.'

CSB: let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang them in the presence of the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the Lord’s chosen." The king answered, "I will hand them over."

NLT: So let seven of Saul’s sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord. ' 'All right,' the king said, 'I will do it.'

KJV: Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.

NKJV: let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord chose.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

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.