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The Famine Brings Justice

21 There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David inquired of Yahweh,[a] and Yahweh said, “The bloodguilt is on Saul and on his household, because he killed the Gibeonites.” So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not from the Israelites;[b] they were from the remainder of the Amorites. Now the Israelites[c] had sworn to them,[d] but Saul tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the Israelites[e] and Judah. So David asked the Gibeonites, “What can I do for you, and with what can I make amends that you may bless the inheritance of Yahweh?”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 21:1 Literally “sought the face of Yahweh”
  2. 2 Samuel 21:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. 2 Samuel 21:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  4. 2 Samuel 21:2 The treaty between Israel and the Gibeonites is found in Josh 9
  5. 2 Samuel 21:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”

The Gibeonites Avenged

21 During the reign of David, there was a famine(A) for three successive years; so David sought(B) the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

The king summoned the Gibeonites(C) and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?”(D)

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