2 Samuel 21

1 During the reign [period of rule, time of leadership] of David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] there was a famine [severe scarcity of food, hunger] for three [a triad, a set of three] successive years [periods of time, years in a row], and David sought [to search, to inquire of] the face [presence, countenance] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]. And the LORD [Yehovah] said, “It is because of the blood [the liquid that flows through the body] shed [poured out, spilled] by Saul [Shaul, the first king of Israel] and his family [house, household], because he killed [put to death, slew] the Gibeonites [inhabitants of Gibeon].” word study 2 At this, David [the king, leader of Israel] summoned [called out to, gathered] the Gibeonites [a remnant of the Amorites, non-Israelites] and spoke to them [communicated, addressed]. (Now the Gibeonites [people of Gibeon] were not Israelites [descendants of Jacob], but a remnant [remaining part, leftover] of the Amorites [a Canaanite tribe]. The Israelites [descendants of Jacob] had taken an oath [sworn a promise, made a vow] concerning them [regarding, about], but in his zeal [passion, enthusiasm] for Israel [the people, the nation] and Judah [the tribe, the region], Saul [the previous king, Shaul] had sought [tried, attempted] to kill them [destroy, eliminate].) word study 3 So David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] asked the Gibeonites [people from Gibeon], “What [a question of surprise or inquiry] shall I do [make or perform an action] for you? How [in what way, by what means] can I make amends [atone or cover] so that you may bless [praise or honor] the inheritance [something passed down] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]?” word study 4 The Gibeonites [inhabitants of Gibeon, a city in Israel] said to him, “We need no [do not require] silver [money, payment] or gold [wealth, riches] from Saul [Shaul, the king of Israel] or his house [family, household], nor should you put to death [kill, slay] anyone in Israel [the people of God] for us [on our behalf].” “Whatever [whatsoever, anything] you ask [request, desire], I will do [perform, accomplish] for you [on your behalf],” he replied [said, spoke]. word study 5 And they answered the king, “As for the man [the individual, a male person] who consumed us [destroyed, wasted us] and plotted against us [devised evil, planned to harm] to exterminate us [to destroy, annihilate] from existing [remaining, having a place] within any border [coast, boundary] of Israel [the land of God’s chosen people], word study 6 let seven of his male descendants [sons or descendants, including grandsons] be delivered to us so that we may hang [execute or dislocate] them before the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] at Gibeah [a city in Palestine, specifically in the region of Benjamin] of Saul [Shaul, a Benjamite king], the chosen [select or preferred] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God].” “I [the king, a royal person] will give [put, set, or bestow] them to you,” said the king. word study 7 Now the king [ruler, monarch] spared [had pity on, showed mercy to] Mephibosheth [exterminator of shame] son of Jonathan [Jehovah has given], the son of Saul [desired], because of the oath [solemn promise, vow] before the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] between David [beloved] and Jonathan [given by God] son of Saul [desired]. word study 8 But the king [ruler, sovereign] took Armoni and Mephibosheth [exterminator of idols], the two [a pair, a duo] sons whom Rizpah [a concubine of Saul] daughter of Aiah [father of Rizpah] had borne [given birth to, brought forth] to Saul [the first king of Israel], as well as the five [a quintet, a group of five] sons whom Merab [Saul’s daughter, a woman of noble birth] daughter of Saul had borne [brought forth, given birth to] to Adriel [flock of God, a son of Barzillai] son of Barzillai [my iron, a Gileadite leader] the Meholathite [a resident of Abel-Mecholah, a place of dancing]. word study 9 And he delivered them into the hands [of authority and power] of the Gibeonites [inhabitants of Gibeon], and they hanged [executed, put to death] them on the hill [mountain] before the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. So all seven of them fell together [in unity, as one]; they were put to death [killed, executed as a punishment] in the first days [at the beginning, in the early stages] of the harvest [the time of gathering, the reaping of crops], at the beginning [the start, the commencement] of the barley harvest [the season of barley gathering, a significant time in ancient Israel]. word study 10 And Rizpah [daughter of Aiah, a concubine of King Saul] the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth [a coarse cloth for mourning] and spread it out for herself on a rock [a rock or boulder; a refuge]. From the beginning [the start of the harvest season] of the harvest [the time of gathering crops] until the rain [water from heaven, a blessing from God] from heaven [the sky, the dwelling place of God] poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds [creatures of the air, a potential threat] of the air [the sky, the heavens] to rest [to settle and remain] on them by day [during the daytime, in the light], nor the beasts [wild animals, a potential danger] of the field [the land, the wilderness] by night [in the darkness, a time of vulnerability]. word study 11 When David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] was told [informed, declared openly] what Saul’s [Shaul, meaning desired] concubine [a woman living with a man but not his wife] Rizpah [mother of Armoni and Mephibosheth], daughter [a female child or woman] of Aiah [meaning falcon], had done [made, performed, acted], word study 12 he went [to walk, to move from one place to another] and took [to get, to receive] the bones [the substance or essence of something] of Saul [Shaul, desired] and his son [descendant, offspring] Jonathan [Jehonathan, Jehovah has given] from the men [masters, owners] of Jabesh-gilead [a town in the Gilead region], who had stolen [taken secretly] them from the public square [street, plaza] of Beth-shan [house of ease] where the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia] had hung [displayed, punished] the bodies after they had struck down [smitten, hit] Saul at Gilboa [a mountain in Palestine, swollen heap]. word study 13 So David had the bones [remains, skeletal frame] of Saul [Shaul, the desired one] and his son Jonathan [Jehonathan, Jehovah has given] brought from there [that place, thither], along with the bones [remains, substance] of those who had been [executed by] hanged [dislocated, torn away]. word study 14 And they buried [in the tomb, laid to rest] the bones [the substance or essence] of Saul [Shaul, the desired one] and his son Jonathan [Jehonathan, given by Jehovah] in Zela [a city in Benjamin] in the land [the territory, region] of Benjamin [son of the right hand], in the tomb [sepulchre, grave] of Saul’s father Kish [meaning ‘bow’ or ‘power’]. After they had done [performed, carried out] everything [all, the whole] the king [royal person, ruler] had commanded [given orders, appointed], God [Elohim, the supreme One] answered [was entreated, heard] their prayers [supplications, requests] for the land [the country, territory]. word study 15 Once again [still, yet again] the Philistines [immigrants from other places, non-Israelites] waged war [battle, conflict] against Israel [Jacob’s descendants, God’s chosen people], and David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] and his servants [slaves, attendants] went down [descended, to a lower place] and fought [engaged in battle, consumed by] against the Philistines; but David [the king, leader] became exhausted [faint, weary, like flying away in weakness]. word study 16 Then Ishbi-benob [a giant Philistine, descendant of Rapha], a descendant of Rapha, whose bronze [made of copper] spear weighed three hundred shekels [about 7-1/2 pounds, a heavy weight] and who was bearing [girded, prepared for battle] a new [recently created, fresh] sword, resolved [determined, made up his mind] to kill [smite, strike down] David. word study 17 But Abishai [David’s nephew] son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine [a person from the region of Philistia], and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle [war, fight], so that the lamp [a candle, a light] of Israel [God’s chosen people] may not be extinguished [put out, quenched].” word study 18 Some time [after this, afterwards] later at Gob [a place in Palestine, a cistern], there was another [second, subsequent] battle [war, conflict] with the Philistines [a group of non-Hebrew people, immigrants from other places]. At that time [then, in the past] Sibbecai [a brave warrior, one of David’s captains] the Hushathite [from the family line of Hushah] killed [struck, smote] Saph [a giant, a Philistine], one of the descendants [sons, born] of Rapha [a group of giants, the Raphaite]. word study 19 Once again [still, another time] there was a battle [war, conflict] with the Philistines [a non-Israelite people, immigrants from other places] at Gob [a place in Palestine, meaning cistern], and Elhanan [God has been gracious, a warrior of God] son of Jair [Jaare-oregim, meaning he will enlighten or awaken] the Bethlehemite [from Bethlehem, the house of bread] killed [slew, struck down] the brother of Goliath [a giant Philistine warrior] the Gittite [from Gath, a city in Palestine], the shaft [wood, tree] of whose spear [lance, thrusting pole] was like a weaver’s [cloth-worker’s, one who interweaves threads] beam [loom-beam, a strong and firm object]. word study 20 And there was still [yet, again] another battle [war, conflict] at Gath [a major city of the Philistines], where there was a man [individual, person] of great stature [height, physical size] with six fingers [digits, extremities] on each hand [open hand] and six toes [digits, extremities] on each foot [the leg]—twenty-four [a total count] in all. He too [also, even] was descended from Rapha [the Raphaite, a group of giants], word study 21 and when he [defied, reproached] taunted Israel, Jonathan [son of Shimea, David’s brother] the son of David’s brother [relative, kin] Shimei [Shimeah, a common Israelite name] killed [slew, smote] him. word study 22 So these [specific, aforementioned] four [a quantity of, exactly] descendants [born of, offspring] of Rapha [the giant, a Rephaim] in Gath [a Philistine city, a winepress] fell [were defeated, came to an end] at the hands [by the power, under the authority] of David [the king of Israel, a servant of God] and his servants [attendants, followers]. word study