Saul's Descendants Are Put to Death

¹During David's reign there was a severe famine which lasted for three full years. So David consulted the Lord about it, and the Lord said, “Saul and his family are guilty of murder; he put the people of Gibeon to death.”

²(The people of Gibeon were not Israelites; they were a small group of Amorites whom the Israelites had promised to protect, but Saul had tried to destroy them because of his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)

³So David summoned the people of Gibeon and said to them, “What can I do for you? I want to make up for the wrong that was done to you, so that you will bless the Lord's people.”

⁴They answered, “Our quarrel with Saul and his family can't be settled with silver or gold, nor do we want to kill any Israelite.” “What, then, do you think I should do for you?” David asked.

⁵They answered, “Saul wanted to destroy us and leave none of us alive anywhere in Israel.

⁶So hand over seven of his male descendants, and we will hang them before the Lord at Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, the Lord's chosen king.” “I will hand them over,” the king answered.

⁷But because of the sacred promise that he and Jonathan had made to each other, David spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul.

⁸However, he took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah the daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul; he also took the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai, who was from Meholah.

⁹David handed them over to the people of Gibeon, who hanged them on the mountain before the Lord—and all seven of them died together. It was late in the spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest, when they were put to death.

¹⁰Then Saul's concubine Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, used sackcloth to make a shelter for herself on the rock where the corpses were, and she stayed there from the beginning of harvest until the autumn rains came. During the day she would keep the birds away from the corpses, and at night she would protect them from wild animals.

¹¹When David heard what Rizpah had done,

¹²he went and got the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the people of Jabesh in Gilead. (They had stolen them from the public square in Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hanged the bodies on the day they killed Saul on Mount Gilboa.)

¹³David took the bones of Saul and Jonathan and also gathered up the bones of the seven men who had been hanged.

¹⁴Then they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan in the grave of Saul's father Kish, in Zela in the territory of Benjamin, doing all that the king had commanded. And after that, God answered their prayers for the country.

Battles against Philistine Giants

¹⁵There was another war between the Philistines and Israel, and David and his men went and fought the Philistines. During one of the battles David grew tired.

¹⁶A giant named Ishbibenob, who was carrying a bronze spear that weighed about seven and a half pounds and who was wearing a new sword, thought he could kill David.

¹⁷But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's help, attacked the giant, and killed him. Then David's men made David promise that he would never again go out with them to battle. “You are the hope of Israel, and we don't want to lose you,” they said.

¹⁸After this there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, during which Sibbecai from Hushah killed a giant named Saph.

¹⁹There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem killed Goliath from Gath, whose spear had a shaft as thick as the bar on a weaver's loom.

²⁰Then there was another battle at Gath, where there was a giant who loved to fight. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.

²¹He defied the Israelites, and Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shammah, killed him.

²²These four were descendants of the giants of Gath, and they were killed by David and his men.

The Temple Guards

¹These are the assignments of work for the Levites who served as Temple guards. From the clan of Korah there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Asaph.

²He had seven sons, listed in order of age: Zechariah, Jediael, Zebadiah, Jathniel,

³Elam, Jehohanan, and Eliehoenai.

⁴There was also Obed Edom, whom God blessed by giving him eight sons, listed in order of age: Shemaiah, Jehozabad, Joah, Sachar, Nethanel,

⁵Ammiel, Issachar, and Peullethai.

^6-7Obed Edom's oldest son, Shemaiah, had six sons: Othni, Rephael, Obed, Elzabad, Elihu, and Semachiah. They were important men in their clan because of their great ability; the last two were especially talented.

⁸Obed Edom's family furnished a total of sixty-two highly qualified men for this work.

⁹Meshelemiah's family furnished eighteen qualified men.

¹⁰From the clan of Merari there was Hosah, who had four sons: Shimri (his father made him the leader, even though he was not the oldest son),

¹¹Hilkiah, Tebaliah, and Zechariah. In all there were thirteen members of Hosah's family who were Temple guards.

¹²The Temple guards were divided into groups, according to families, and they were assigned duties in the Temple, just as the other Levites were.

¹³Each family, regardless of size, drew lots to see which gate it would be responsible for.

¹⁴Shelemiah drew the east gate, and his son Zechariah, a man who always gave good advice, drew the north gate.

¹⁵Obed Edom was allotted the south gate, and his sons were allotted to guard the storerooms.

¹⁶Shuppim and Hosah were allotted the west gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the upper road. Guard duty was divided into assigned periods, one after another.

¹⁷On the east, six guards were on duty each day, on the north, four, and on the south, four. Four guards were stationed at the storerooms daily, two at each storeroom.

¹⁸Near the western pavilion there were four guards by the road and two at the pavilion itself.

¹⁹This is the assignment of guard duty to the clan of Korah and the clan of Merari.

Other Temple Duties

²⁰Others of their fellow Levites were in charge of the Temple treasury and the storerooms for gifts dedicated to God.

²¹Ladan, one of the sons of Gershon, was the ancestor of several family groups, including the family of his son Jehiel.

²²Ladan's two other sons, Zetham and Joel, had charge of the Temple treasury and storerooms.

²³Duties were also assigned to the descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁴Shebuel, of the clan of Moses' son Gershom, was the chief official responsible for the Temple treasury.

²⁵Through Gershom's brother Eliezer he was related to Shelomith. Eliezer was the father of Rehabiah, who was the father of Jeshaiah, the father of Joram, the father of Zichri, the father of Shelomith.

²⁶Shelomith and the members of his family were in charge of all the gifts dedicated to God by King David, the heads of families, leaders of clan groups, and army officers.

²⁷They took some of the loot they captured in battle and dedicated it for use in the Temple.

²⁸Shelomith and his family were in charge of everything that had been dedicated for use in the Temple, including the gifts brought by the prophet Samuel, by King Saul, by Abner son of Ner, and by Joab son of Zeruiah.

Duties of Other Levites

²⁹Among the descendants of Izhar, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned administrative duties: keeping records and settling disputes for the people of Israel.

³⁰Among the descendants of Hebron, Hashabiah and seventeen hundred of his relatives, all outstanding men, were put in charge of the administration of all religious and civil matters in Israel west of the Jordan River.

³¹Jeriah was the leader of the descendants of Hebron. In the fortieth year that David was king, an investigation was made of the family line of Hebron's descendants, and outstanding soldiers belonging to this family were found living at Jazer in the territory of Gilead.

³²King David chose twenty-seven hundred outstanding heads of families from Jeriah's relatives and put them in charge of administering all religious and civil matters in Israel east of the Jordan River—the territories of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.

A Song of Praise

¹I waited patiently for the Lord's help; then he listened to me and heard my cry.

²He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a rock and made me secure.

³He taught me to sing a new song, a song of praise to our God. Many who see this will take warning and will put their trust in the Lord.

⁴Happy are those who trust the Lord, who do not turn to idols or join those who worship false gods.

⁵You have done many things for us, O Lord our God; there is no one like you! You have made many wonderful plans for us. I could never speak of them all— their number is so great!

⁶You do not want sacrifices and offerings; you do not ask for animals burned whole on the altar or for sacrifices to take away sins. Instead, you have given me ears to hear you,

⁷and so I answered, “Here I am; your instructions for me are in the book of the Law.

⁸How I love to do your will, my God! I keep your teaching in my heart.”

⁹In the assembly of all your people, Lord, I told the good news that you save us. You know that I will never stop telling it.

¹⁰I have not kept the news of salvation to myself; I have always spoken of your faithfulness and help. In the assembly of all your people I have not been silent about your loyalty and constant love.

¹¹Lord, I know you will never stop being merciful to me. Your love and loyalty will always keep me safe.

A Prayer for Help

¹²I am surrounded by many troubles— too many to count! My sins have caught up with me, and I can no longer see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and I have lost my courage.

¹³Save me, Lord! Help me now!

¹⁴May those who try to kill me be completely defeated and confused. May those who are happy because of my troubles be turned back and disgraced.

¹⁵May those who make fun of me be dismayed by their defeat.

¹⁶May all who come to you be glad and joyful. May all who are thankful for your salvation always say, “How great is the Lord!”

¹⁷I am weak and poor, O Lord, but you have not forgotten me. You are my savior and my God— hurry to my aid!