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2 Samuel 4-5
Contemporary English Version
2 Samuel 4-5
Contemporary English Version
Ishbosheth Is Killed
4 Ishbosheth[a] felt like giving up after he heard that Abner had died in Hebron. Everyone in Israel was terrified.
2 Ishbosheth had put the two brothers Baanah and Rechab in charge of the soldiers who raided enemy villages. Rimmon was their father, and they were from the town of Beeroth, which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. 3 The people who used to live in Beeroth had run away to Gittaim, and they still live[b] there.
4 (A) Saul's son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth,[c] who had not been able to walk since he was five years old. It happened when someone from Jezreel told his nurse that Saul and Jonathan had died.[d] She hurried off with the boy in her arms, but he fell and injured his legs.
5 One day about noon, Rechab and Baanah went to Ishbosheth's house. It was a hot day, and he was resting 6-7 in his bedroom. The two brothers went into the house, pretending to get some flour. But once they were inside, they stabbed Ishbosheth in the stomach and killed him. Then they cut off his head and took it with them.
Rechab and Baanah walked through the Jordan River valley all night long. 8 Finally they turned west and went to Hebron. They went in to see David and told him, “Your Majesty, here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you! The Lord has let you get even with Saul and his family.”
9 David answered:
I swear that only the Lord rescues me when I'm in trouble! 10 (B) When a man came to Ziklag and told me that Saul was dead, he thought he deserved a reward for bringing good news. But I grabbed him and killed him.
11 You evil men have done something much worse than he did. You've killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed. I'll make you pay for that. I'll wipe you from the face of the earth!
12 Then David said to his troops, “Kill these two brothers! Cut off their hands and feet and hang their bodies by the pool in Hebron. But bury Ishbosheth's head in Abner's tomb near Hebron.” And they did.
David Becomes King of Israel
(1 Chronicles 11.1-3)
5 Israel's leaders met with David at Hebron and said, “We are your relatives. 2 Even when Saul was king, you led our nation in battle. And the Lord promised that someday you would rule Israel and take care of us like a shepherd.”
3 During the meeting, David made an agreement with the leaders and asked the Lord to be their witness. Then the leaders poured olive oil on David's head to show that he was now the king of Israel.
4 (C) David was 30 years old when he became king, and he ruled for 40 years. 5 He lived in Hebron for the first seven and a half years and ruled only Judah. Then he moved to Jerusalem, where he ruled both Israel and Judah for 33 years.
How David Captured Jerusalem
(1 Chronicles 11.4-9; 14.1,2)
6 (D) The Jebusites lived in Jerusalem, and David led his army there to attack them. The Jebusites did not think he could get in, so they told him, “You can't get in here! We could keep you out, even if we couldn't see or walk!”
7-9 David told his troops, “You will have to go up through the water tunnel to get those Jebusites. I hate people like them[e] who can't walk or see.”
That's why there is still a rule that says, “Only people who can walk and see are allowed in the temple.”[f]
David captured the fortress on Mount Zion, then he moved there and named it David's City. He had the city rebuilt, starting with the landfill to the east. 10 David became a great and strong ruler, because the Lord All-Powerful was on his side.
11 King Hiram of Tyre sent some officials to David. Carpenters and stone workers came with them, and they brought cedar logs so they could build David a palace.
12 David knew that the Lord had made him king of Israel and that he had made him a powerful ruler for the good of his people.
David's Sons Born in Jerusalem
(1 Chronicles 14.3-7)
13 After David left Hebron and moved to Jerusalem, he married many women[g] from Jerusalem,[h] and he had a lot of children. 14 His sons who were born there were Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada,[i] and Eliphelet.
David Fights the Philistines
(1 Chronicles 14.8-17)
17 The Philistines heard that David was now king of Israel, and they came into the hill country to try and capture him. But David found out and went into his fortress.[j] 18 So the Philistines camped in Rephaim Valley.[k]
19 David asked the Lord, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you let me win?”
The Lord told David, “Attack! I will let you win.”
20 David attacked the Philistines and defeated them. Then he said, “I watched the Lord break through my enemies like a mighty flood.” So he named the place “The Lord Broke Through.”[l] 21 David and his troops also carried away the idols that the Philistines had left behind.
22 Some time later, the Philistines came back into the hill country and camped in Rephaim Valley. 23 David asked the Lord what he should do, and the Lord answered:
Don't attack them from the front. Circle around behind and attack from among the balsam[m] trees. 24 Wait until you hear a sound in the treetops like marching troops. Then attack quickly! That sound will mean I have marched out ahead of you to fight the Philistine army.
25 David obeyed the Lord and defeated the Philistines. He even chased them all the way from Geba to the entrance to Gezer.
Footnotes
- 4.1 Ishbosheth: Hebrew “The Son of Saul.”
- 4.3 live: The Hebrew word means that they did not have the full legal rights of citizens.
- 4.4 Mephibosheth: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation have “Mephibaal.” In 1 Chronicles 8.34 and 9.40 he is called “Meribbaal.” See the note on “baal” and “bosheth” at 2.8.
- 4.4 Saul … died: See 1 Samuel 31.1-6.
- 5.7-9 You will … them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 5.7-9 temple: Or “palace.”
- 5.13 married many women: Some of these women were second-class wives (see the note at 3.7).
- 5.13 from Jerusalem: Or “in Jerusalem.”
- 5.16 Eliada: See 1 Chronicles 3.6-8. First Chronicles 14.7 has “Beeliada.”
- 5.17 fortress: Probably the fortress of Adullam, which was David's former hideout (see 1 Samuel 22.1,4; 24.22). Or it could refer to the older walled city of Jerusalem, called the “fortress on Mount Zion” in verses 7-9.
- 5.18 Rephaim Valley: A few kilometers southwest of Jerusalem.
- 5.20 The Lord Broke Through: Or “Baal-Perazim.”
- 5.23 balsam: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2 Samuel 4-5
New International Version
2 Samuel 4-5
New International Version
Ish-Bosheth Murdered
4 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner(A) had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth(B) is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim(C) and have resided there as foreigners to this day.
4 (Jonathan(D) son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news(E) about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled.(F) His name was Mephibosheth.)(G)
5 Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth,(H) and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest.(I) 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed(J) him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.
7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah.(K) 8 They brought the head(L) of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul,(M) your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged(N) my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”
9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered(O) me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag.(P) That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood(Q) from your hand and rid the earth of you!”
12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them.(R) They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.
David Becomes King Over Israel(S)
5 All the tribes of Israel(T) came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood.(U) 2 In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns.(V) And the Lord said(W) to you, ‘You will shepherd(X) my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.(Y)’”
3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant(Z) with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed(AA) David king over Israel.
4 David was thirty years old(AB) when he became king, and he reigned(AC) forty(AD) years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months,(AE) and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
David Conquers Jerusalem(AF)(AG)
6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem(AH) to attack the Jebusites,(AI) who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion(AJ)—which is the City of David.(AK)
8 On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft(AL) to reach those ‘lame and blind’(AM) who are David’s enemies.[a]” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”
9 David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces[b](AN) inward. 10 And he became more and more powerful,(AO) because the Lord God Almighty(AP) was with him.(AQ)
11 Now Hiram(AR) king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. 12 Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom(AS) for the sake of his people Israel.
13 After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives(AT) in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. 14 These are the names of the children born to him there:(AU) Shammua, Shobab, Nathan,(AV) Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada and Eliphelet.
David Defeats the Philistines(AW)
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold.(AX) 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;(AY) 19 so David inquired(AZ) of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.[c](BA) 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.(BB)
22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound(BC) of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front(BD) of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines(BE) all the way from Gibeon[d](BF) to Gezer.(BG)
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 5:8 Or are hated by David
- 2 Samuel 5:9 Or the Millo
- 2 Samuel 5:20 Baal Perazim means the lord who breaks out.
- 2 Samuel 5:25 Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 14:16); Hebrew Geba
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