The Gibeonites Hang Saul's Descendants
1 While David was king, there were three years in a row when the nation of Israel could not grow enough food. So David asked the Lord for help, and the Lord answered, “Saul and his family are guilty of murder, because he had the Gibeonites killed.”
2 The Gibeonites were not Israelites; they were descendants of the Amorites. The people of Israel had promised not to kill them, but Saul had tried to kill them because he wanted Israel and Judah to control all the land.
David had the Gibeonites come, and he talked with them. 3 He said, “What can I do to make up for what Saul did, so that you'll ask the Lord to be kind to his people again?”
4 The Gibeonites answered, “Silver and gold from Saul and his family are not enough. On the other hand, we don't have the right to put any Israelite to death.”
David said, “I'll do whatever you ask.”
5 They replied, “Saul tried to kill all our people so that none of us would be left in the land of Israel. 6 Give us seven of his descendants. We will hang these men near the place where the Lord is worshiped in Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, the Lord's chosen king.”
“I'll give them to you,” David said.
7 David had made a promise to Jonathan with the Lord as his witness, so he spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul. 8 But Saul and Rizpah the daughter of Aiah had two sons named Armoni and Mephibosheth. Saul's daughter Merab had five sons whose father was Adriel the son of Barzillai from Meholah. David took Rizpah's two sons and Merab's five sons and 9 turned them over to the Gibeonites, who hanged all seven of them on the mountain near the place where the Lord was worshiped. This happened right at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Rizpah Takes Care of the Bodies
10 Rizpah spread out some sackcloth on a nearby rock. She wouldn't let the birds land on the bodies during the day, and she kept the wild animals away at night. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until it started to rain.
The Burial of Saul and His Descendants
11-12 Earlier the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa and had hung their bodies in the town square at Beth-Shan. The people of Jabesh in Gilead had secretly taken the bodies away, but David found out what Saul's wife Rizpah had done, and he went to the leaders of Jabesh to get the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. 13-14 David had their bones taken to the land of Benjamin and buried in a side room in Saul's family burial place. Then he gave orders for the bones of the men who had been hanged to be buried there. It was done, and God answered prayers to bless the land.
The Descendants of the Rephaim
(1 Chronicles 20.4-8)15 One time David got very tired when he and his soldiers were fighting the Philistines. 16 One of the Philistine warriors was Ishbibenob, who was a descendant of the Rephaim, and he tried to kill David. Ishbibenob was armed with a new sword, and his bronze spearhead alone weighed about three and a half kilograms. 17 But Abishai came to the rescue and killed the Philistine.
David's soldiers told him, “We can't let you risk your life in battle anymore! You give light to our nation, and we want that flame to keep burning.”
18 There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, where Sibbecai from Hushah killed a descendant of the Rephaim named Saph.
19 There was still another battle with the Philistines at Gob. A soldier named Elhanan killed Goliath from Gath, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam. Elhanan's father was Jari from Bethlehem.
20 There was another war, this time in Gath. One of the enemy soldiers was a descendant of the Rephaim. He was as big as a giant and had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. 21 But when he made fun of Israel, David's nephew Jonathan killed him. Jonathan was the son of David's brother Shimei.
22 David and his soldiers killed these four men who were descendants of the Rephaim from Gath.
Oluvalo lwaSaul talu dhipagwa
1 Muuyuni waDavid okwa li ondjala yekomba ya kala omimvo ndatu. David okwa pula Omuwa molwayo, Omuwa nokwa ti: “Saul nezimo lye oyo ye na oshipwe shedhipago; okwa dhipagele Aagibeon.” 2 (Aagibeon kaya li Aaisraeli; oya li okangundu okashona kAayamori mboka ya li yu uvanekelwa kAaisraeli, ye ya hupithe, ihe Saul okwa kambadhala oku ya komba po molwokuladhipalela Israel naJuda.) 3 David okwi ithana Aagibeon nokwe ya pula ta ti: “Nandi mu ninge ngiini? Onda hala okwoopaleka epuko ndyoka mwe li ningilwa, opo mu yambeke oshigwana shOmuwa.”
4 Oya yamukula ya ti: “Oontamanana dhetu naSaul nezimo lye itadhi vulu okwoopalekwa noshisiliveli nenge noshingoli, tse inatu hala wo okudhipaga Omuisraeli nando gumwe.”
David okwa pula a ti: “Nena nduno otamu dhiladhila, ndi mu ningile shike?”
5 Oya yamukula ya ti: “Saul okwa li a hala e tu hanagule po, pwaa kale nando ogumwe gwetu e na omwenyo shaa mpoka muIsrael. 6 Onkee tu pa mo aalumentu yaheyali yomoluvalo lwe, notatu ke ya endjeleleka montaneho yOmuwa puGibea, omukunda gwaSaul, omukwaniilwa a hogololwa kOmuwa.”
Omukwaniilwa David okwa yamukula a ti: “Otandi ye mu pe.”
7 Ihe molweuvaneko eyapuki ndyoka yu uvanekelathana naJonatan, David okwa hupitha omuna gwaJonatan Mefiboshet, omutekulu gwaSaul.
8 Ihe okwa kutha Armoni naMefiboshet, aamati yaali mboka Rizpa yaAja e ya valele Saul; okwa kutha wo aamati yatano yomuna gwaSaul Merab, mboka a valele Adriel yaBarsillai gwokuMehola. 9 David okwe ya gandja kAagibeon, mboka ye ya endjeleleke kondundu koshipala shOmuwa; ayehe yaheyali oya sile pamwe. Oya dhipagwa petameko lyomasiku gotango gokuteya, petameko lyeteyo lyiishokelya.
10 Nena ohonda yaSaul Rizpa yaAja oya yala iinguma yomahahi pemanya mpoka pwa li omidhimba; oya kala hoka okuza ketameko lyokuteya, sigo omvula ya loko iipongo. Inayi pitika oondhila dhi lambele puyo omutenya nenge iilyani yi yi gume uusiku.
11 David sho u uvu shoka Rizpa yaAja a ningi, 12 okwa yi e ta kutha ko iipongo yaSaul noyomwana Jonatan kAajabesh muGilead. (Oye yi yakele kekuma lyoshilando muBetshan, nkoka Aafilisti ya li ya tsilika omidhimba, uuna ya dhipagele Saul kondundu Gilboa.) 13 David okwa kutha iipongo yaSaul naJonatan nokwa gongele wo iipongo yaalumentu yaheyali mboka ya li ye endjelelekwa. 14 Nena oya fumvike iipongo yaSaul noyaJonatan mombila yaKish, he yaSaul, muZela moshilongo shaBenjamin, ya gwanitha ayihe mbyoka omukwaniilwa a popi. Konima yaambika Kalunga okwa yamukula omagalikano gawo e ta sile evi ohenda.
Olugodhi naalefule yAafilisti
(1 Ondjal. 20:4-8)15 Okwa li wo ku na iita yilwe pokati kAafilisti naIsrael. David okwa yi naantu ye, ya kondjithe Aafilisti. Metifa lyolugodhi David okwe etwa mo komvulwe. 16 Omulefule, edhina lye Ishbibenob, ngoka a li a humbata egonga lyoshikushu lyuudhigu wookilohalama ndatu netata nokwa li a zala egongamwele epe, okwa dhiladhila kutya ota dhipaga David. 17 Ihe Abisai, omuna gwaZeruia, okwe ya a popile David. Okwa ponokele omulefule e te mu dhipaga. Nena aantu yaDavid oyu uvaneke kutya ita lyata we kiita. Oya ti: “Ongoye etegameno lyaIsrael; tse inatu hala, tu ku kanithe.”
18 Konima yaambika opwa li olugodhi nAafilisti puGob; molugodhi nduka Sibbekai Omuhusha okwa dhipaga omulefule edhina lye Saf.
19 Okwa li ishewe olugodhi olukwawo nAafilisti puGob. Nena Elhanan yaJair gwokuBetlehem okwa dhipaga Goliat Omugat, ngoka a li e na egonga li na oshikwatelo shi thike pondisimbumu.
20 Okwa li ishewe olugodhi olukwawo muGat, moka mwa li omulefule e hole okukondja. Okwa li e na ominwe oohamano kiikaha nokoompadhi. 21 Sho a sheke Israel, Jonatan, omuna gwamumwayina gwaDavid, edhina lye Shamma, okwe mu dhipaga.
22 Ayehe mbaka yane oya li oluvalo lwaalefule yokuGat, noya li ya dhipagwa po kaantu yaDavid.
