1Houve uma fome durante o reinado de David que durou três anos consecutivos. David consultou o SENHOR que lhe disse: “Esta fome é por causa da maldade de Saul e da sua família sanguinária que matou os gibeonitas.”2O rei chamou os gibeonitas. Estes não faziam parte de Israel; tinham ficado da nação dos amorreus. Israel jurara não os matar, mas Saul, no seu zelo nacionalista, tentou liquidá-los.3David perguntou-lhes: “Que posso fazer por vocês, para que nos livremos desta culpa que recai sobre nós, e para que possamos enfim pedir a bênção do SENHOR?”4“O caso não se resolve com dinheiro e também não pretendemos matar seja quem for dos israelitas.” David perguntou de novo: “Que posso eu fazer? Digam-me para que assim proceda.”5-6Eles responderam: “Dá-nos sete descendentes de Saul, esse homem que procurou destruir-nos. Enforcá-los-emos em Gibeá, a cidade de Saul.” E disse-lhes: “Está certo; farei isso.”7No entanto, poupou Mefibosete, filho de Jónatas e neto de Saul, devido ao juramento que fizera a Jónatas.8Mas deu-lhes os dois filhos de Rispa, Armoni e Mefibosete, que eram netos de Saul através da sua mulher Aiá. Também lhes entregou cinco filhos de Merabe, filha de Saul, que tivera de Adriel, filho de Barzilai, meolatita.9Os homens de Gibeão enforcaram-nos na montanha perante o SENHOR. Os sete morreram juntos no princípio da colheita da cevada.10Rispa, a mãe de dois dos homens, estendeu um saco de serapilheira sobre um rochedo e ficou ali a guardar os cadáveres, durante toda a estação da sega, para evitar que as aves de rapina os despedaçassem de dia e que de noite os animais selvagens os comessem.11David, ao saber do que ela tinha feito,12-14ordenou que os ossos dos homens fossem enterrados no túmulo de Cis, o pai de Saul, em Zela, na terra de Benjamim. Enviou também um pedido à população de Jabes-Gileade para que lhe trouxessem os ossos de Saul e Jónatas. Estes tinham furtado os seus corpos duma praça pública em Bete-Seã, onde os filisteus os tinham pendurado, depois de terem morrido na batalha do monte Gilboa. Desta forma, Deus respondeu às orações e fez terminar aquela fome.
Guerra contra os filisteus
15Uma vez mais os filisteus estavam em guerra com Israel. David e os seus homens participavam na batalha, tendo o rei ficado exausto e muito fraco.16Isbi-Benobe, um gigante cuja lança de bronze pesava mais de 3 quilos e que usava uma armadura nova, aproximou-se de David com a intenção de o matar.17Mas Abisai, o filho de Zeruía, chegou a tempo e matou este gigante filisteu. Na sequência desse incidente os homens de David disseram-lhe: “Nunca mais voltarás a combater! Por que razão haveríamos de correr o risco de se apagar a luz de Israel?”18Mais tarde, durante uma guerra com os filisteus também em Gobe, Sibecai, o husatita, matou Safe, um outro gigante.19Durante outra guerra contra os filisteus, El-Hanã, filho de Jaré-Oreguim, natural de Belém, matou o irmão de Golias, o giteu, cuja lança era tão grande como a viga dum tecelão.20Noutra batalha, em Gate, um gigante com seis dedos em cada mão e em cada pé, filho também dum gigante,21injuriava a nação de Israel; Jónatas, sobrinho de David, filho de Simeia, irmão de David, matou-o.22Estes quatro gigantes pertenciam à tribo dos gigantes de Gate e foram mortos por elementos das tropas de David.
1Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” (Nm 27:21)2So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. (Js 9:3)3And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?” (1 Sm 26:19)4The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?”5They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel,6let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.” (1 Sm 10:24; 1 Sm 10:26; 1 Sm 11:4)7But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. (1 Sm 20:8; 1 Sm 20:42; 1 Sm 23:18)8The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab[1] the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; (Gn 50:23; 1 Sm 18:19; 2 Sm 3:7)9and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest. (Rt 1:22)10Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. (Dt 21:23)11When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done,12David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. (Js 17:11; 1 Sm 31:10; 2 Sm 2:4)13And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged.14And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land. (Js 18:28; 2 Sm 24:25)
War with the Philistines
15There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary.16And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels[2] of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. (2 Sm 21:18; 2 Sm 21:20; 2 Sm 21:22)17But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.” (2 Sm 18:3; 2 Sm 22:29; 1 Rs 11:36; 1 Rs 15:4; 2 Rs 8:19; 2 Cr 21:7; Sl 132:17)18After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. (2 Sm 21:16; 2 Sm 21:20; 2 Sm 21:22; 2 Sm 23:27; 1 Cr 11:29; 1 Cr 20:4; 1 Cr 27:11)19And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.[3] (1 Sm 17:7; 2 Sm 23:24; 1 Cr 20:5)20And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. (2 Sm 21:16; 2 Sm 21:18)21And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. (1 Sm 17:10; 1 Sm 17:25; 1 Sm 17:36; 1 Sm 17:45)22These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. (2 Sm 21:20)