2 Samuel 21:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.

NIV: He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.

NASB: Then he handed them over to the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, so that the seven of them fell together; and they were put to death in the first days of harvest at the beginning of barley harvest.

CSB: and handed them over to the Gibeonites. They hanged them on the hill in the presence of the Lord; the seven of them died together. They were executed in the first days of the harvest at the beginning of the barley harvest.

NLT: The men of Gibeon executed them on the mountain before the Lord. So all seven of them died together at the beginning of the barley harvest.

KJV: And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

NKJV: and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the Lord. So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

Second Samuel 21:7–9 continues the prior story as David decides which of Saul's descendants should pay for the family sin. God has punished Saul's ill treatment of the Gibeonites with a famine in David's kingdom. The Gibeonites demand seven sons of Saul. David spares Jonathan's son but gives them Saul's concubine Rizpah's two sons and his daughter Merab's five. Rizpah will stay near the hanging bodies for months, scaring away birds and wild animals. David hears and has them taken down. Saul and Jonathan's bones are retrieved, and all the men are buried in the family tomb (2 Samuel 21:10–14).

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.