2 Samuel 4

1 Now when Ish-bosheth [descendant] son of Saul heard [listened attentively, gave heed] that Abner [cousin of King Saul, army captain] had died [passed away, met his end] in Hebron [a city in Palestine, a place of rest], he lost courage [became disheartened, his hands were feeble], and all [every, the entirety of] Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, God’s chosen people] was dismayed [troubled, alarmed, in a state of fear]. word study 2 Saul’s son [Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul] had two men [captains of bands, leaders of raiding parties] who were leaders [rulers, princes] of raiding parties [bands, groups of soldiers]. One was named Baanah [in affliction] and the other Rechab [rider]; they were sons [descendants] of Rimmon [a Syrian deity] the Beerothite [from Beeroth, a town in Benjamin] of the tribe [family, nation] of Benjamin [son of the right hand]—Beeroth [a city of wells] is considered [reckoned, counted] part of Benjamin [the youngest son of Jacob], word study 3 because the Beerothites [people of Beeroth, from the town of wells] fled [ran away quickly, escaped] to Gittaim [a place in Judah, meaning two winepresses] and have lived [existed, come into being] there [in that location, at that point] as foreigners [sojourners, living in a foreign land] to this [the present] day [a period of time, a literal 24-hour period or a figurative space of time]. word study 4 And Jonathan [a friend of David] son of Saul had a son who was lame [crippled, physically disabled] in his feet [unable to walk properly]. He was five [a young age, still a child] years old when the report [tidings, news] about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel [a city in Israel, a place of God’s nurturing]. His nurse picked him up and fled [to escape, to run away], but as she was hurrying [in a state of urgency, to hurry away] to escape, he fell [to drop, to come down] and became lame [to be crippled, to have a physical disability]. His name was Mephibosheth [meaning exterminating the idol, a significant name]. word study 5 Now Rechab [son of Rimmon, a Beerothite] and Baanah [in affliction], the sons [descendants] of Rimmon [a Syrian deity] the Beerothite [from Beeroth, a town of wells], set out [to walk, to go] and arrived at the house [dwelling place] of Ish-bosheth [King Saul’s son, Eshbaal] in the heat [warm temperatures] of the day [a 24-hour period], while the king [Ish-bosheth, ruler of Israel] was taking his midday [noon, when the sun shines] nap [rest, sleep]. word study 6 They entered [as if to fetch wheat, secretly] the interior [midst, central part] of the house [dwelling place, family home] as if to get some wheat [grain, food], and they stabbed [smote, struck] him in the stomach [belly, abdomen, under the fifth rib]. Then Rechab [rider, leader] and his brother [male sibling, close relative] Baanah [in affliction, suffering] slipped away [escaped, fled]. word study 7 They had entered [come into, approached] the house [dwelling place, family home] while Ish-bosheth was lying [resting, sleeping] on his bed [couch, place of rest], and having stabbed [struck, smote] and killed [put to death, slain] him, they beheaded [cut off his head, removed his leadership] him, took [gotten, carried away] his head [the topmost part of the body], and traveled [walked, journeyed] all night [the entire evening, through the darkness] by way of [through, along] the Arabah [plain, wilderness, desert region]. word study 8 They brought the head [the topmost part of the body] of Ish-bosheth [Eshbaal, son of Saul] to David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] at Hebron [a place in Palestine] and said to the king [royal person, ruler], “Here is the head [the topmost part of the body] of Ish-bosheth son of Saul [Shaul, a Benjamite king], your enemy [one who hates or opposes] who sought [to search for, to find] your life [soul, living being]. Today [this day, at this time] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] has granted [given, provided] vengeance [avengement, punishment] to my lord [master, ruler] the king [royal person, ruler] against Saul [Shaul, a Benjamite king] and his offspring [seed, descendants].” word study 9 But David answered [replied to] Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD [Yehovah, the one true God] lives [is alive, has life], who has redeemed [ransomed, set free] my life [soul, living being] from all distress [trouble, adversity, vexation], word study 10 when someone told me, ‘Look [behold, see], Saul [Shaul, the desired one] is dead [has died, has passed away],’ and thought he was a bearer of good news [bringing glad tidings, a messenger of joy], I seized [took hold of, grasped] him and put him to death [killed him, slew him] at Ziklag [a city in southern Judah]. That was his reward [a payment, a recompense] for his news [his tidings, his message]! word study 11 How much more, when [evil, morally wrong] wicked men [individuals, humans] kill [slay, murder] a [morally upright, just] righteous man [person, individual] in his own house [dwelling place, home] and on his own bed [place of rest, sleep], shall I not now [at this time, presently] require [demand, seek] his blood [life, vital fluid] from your hands [power, control] and remove [take away, eliminate] you from the earth [land, world]!” word study 12 So David [the king of Judah, a man after God’s heart] commanded his young men [youth, servants], and they killed [slew, put to death] Rechab and Baanah [the assassins of Ish-bosheth]. They cut off [chopped off, severed] their hands [an open hand; strength, a side or share] and feet [the foot, the leg] and hung [displayed, suspended] their bodies by the pool [a reservoir, a gathering place] in Hebron [a city of refuge, a place of safety], but they took [removed, retrieved] the head [the topmost part of the body] of Ish-bosheth [Saul’s son, the former king] and buried [interred, laid to rest] it in Abner’s [the army captain, David’s ally] tomb [sepulchre, grave] in Hebron [the city of Caleb, a descendant of Judah]. word study