1And when Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, he lost all courage, and all his Israelite followers were troubled. 2Ish-bosheth had two men who were captains of bands: one named Baanah, and the other named Rechab, sons of Rimmon, a Beerothite, of the tribe of Benjamin; (Beeroth was also considered part of Benjamin; 3The Beerothites has fled to Gittaim, and lived there as sojourners (foreigners) until this day.) 4And Saul's son, Jonathan, had a son named Mephibosheth, whose legs were crippled. He was five years old when the news came from Jezreel of the death of Saul and Jonathan; and his nurse picked him up to flee; and in her haste, she dropped Mephibosheth, and he became lame. 5And those sons of Rimmon, Rechab and Baanah, came to the house of Ish-bosheth about noon, while he was lying on a bed, resting from the heat of the day. 6And they entered the house as though they had come to fetch wheat; and they stabbed and killed Ish-bosheth and cut off and took his head; and fled across the Jordan valley. And they, Rechab and his brother Baanah, escaped. 7For when they had come into the house, Ish-bosheth lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they killed and beheaded him, and took his head, and fled, traveling through the Arabah all night. 8And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David in Hebron, and said to the king, “Look, here is the head of Ish-bosheth, son of your enemy, Saul, who sought your life; and the LORD has avenged my lord, the king, this day of Saul, and his entire family!” 9And David answered Rechab and his brother, Baanah, “As the LORD lives, Who has redeemed my soul from all adversity, 10When someone came and told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead’, thinking to have brought good news, I took hold of him, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his news, and killed him in Ziklag, 11How much more, when wicked men have slain an innocent man on his own bed in his own house? Shall I not, therefore, now require his blood of you, and take you away from the earth?” 12And David ordered his young men, who killed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth, and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron. Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |