2 Samuel 4 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 When Ishbosheth, son of Saul, heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he was very discouraged, and everyone in Israel was shocked.
1 When Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands became feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled.
2 Ishbosheth had two commanders of his raiding bands, brothers by the name of Baanah and Rechab. They were the sons of Rimmon of the tribe of Benjamin from the town of Beeroth. Beeroth is considered part of the territory of Benjamin,
2 Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin (for Beeroth also is considered a part of Benjamin;
3 because the people who had lived in Beeroth before ran away to Gittaim and lived there as foreigners right up to the present.
3 and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have lived as foreigners there until today).
4 Jonathan, son of Saul, had a son lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about the deaths of Saul and Jonathan had come from Jezreel. His nurse had picked him up and run away, but as she rushed to get away, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
4 Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news came about Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel; and his nurse picked him up and fled. As she hurried to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
5 Rechab and Baanah, sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth's house, arriving in the heat of the day as the king was taking his midday rest.
5 The sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went out and came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth as he took his rest at noon.
6 The woman doorkeeper had been cleaning wheat, but she had grown tired and fallen asleep, so Rechab and Baanah were able to slip inside.
6 They came there into the middle of the house as though they would have fetched wheat, and they struck him in the body; and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.
7 They had gone into the house while Ishbosheth was asleep on his bed in his bedroom. After stabbing and killing him, they cut off his head which they took with them, and they traveled all night by the Jordan Valley road.
7 Now when they came into the house as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him, killed him, beheaded him, and took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night.
8 They took the head of Ishbosheth to David in Hebron. They told the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, son of Saul, your enemy who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has taken revenge on Saul and his family for my lord the king.”
8 They brought the head of Ishbosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life! Yahweh has avenged my lord the king today of Saul and of his offspring.”
9 But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, “As the Lord lives, who has saved me from all my troubles,
9 David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
10 when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead’ and he thought he was bringing me good news, I grabbed him and had him put him to death at Ziklag. That was what he got for bringing me his news!
10 when someone told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking that he brought good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.
11 Even more so then, when evil men kill a good man in his own house, and in his own bed, shouldn't I demand you pay for his life with your own lives, and exterminate you!”
11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house on his bed, should I not now require his blood from your hand, and rid the earth of you?”
12 David gave the order to his men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They chopped off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth's head and buried it in Abner's grave in Hebron.
12 David commanded his young men, and they killed them, cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in Abner’s grave in Hebron.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Baanah
A leader of raiding parties under Ish-bosheth who, with his brother Rechab, stabbed Ish-bosheth in his bed and brought his head to David, and whom David had killed.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 4:2; 2 Samuel 4:5; 2 Samuel 4:6
David
The shepherd who became Israel's greatest king and a man after God's own heart.
Cited in the guide: 1 Sam. 16 - 1 Kings 2; 2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 2:15; Matt. 1:6
Mephibosheth
Jonathan's son, lamed as a child, whom David honored at his own table for his father's sake.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 9
Rechab
A leader of raiding parties under Ish-bosheth who, with his brother Baanah, stabbed Ish-bosheth in his bed and brought his head to David, and whom David had killed.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 4:2; 2 Samuel 4:5; 2 Samuel 4:6
Rimmon
A Beerothite of the tribe of Benjamin, named as the father of Baanah and Rechab, who murdered Ish-bosheth.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 4:2; 2 Samuel 4:9
Cross references (12)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Ezra 4:4; Isaiah 13:7; Jeremiah 6:24; 2 Samuel 17:2; Isaiah 35:3
- 2 Joshua 18:25; Joshua 9:17; 2 Samuel 3:22; 2 Kings 5:2; 2 Kings 6:23
- 3 Nehemiah 11:33; 1 Samuel 31:7
- 4 2 Samuel 9:3; 2 Samuel 9:6; 1 Chronicles 9:40; 1 Samuel 29:11; 1 Chronicles 8:34
- 5 Proverbs 24:33–34; 1 Thessalonians 5:3–7; 2 Samuel 11:2; 2 Samuel 2:8; 1 Kings 16:9
- 6 2 Samuel 2:23; 2 Samuel 20:10; 2 Samuel 3:27
- 7 Mark 6:28–29; 1 Samuel 31:9; 2 Samuel 2:29; 1 Samuel 17:54; 2 Kings 10:6–7
- 8 1 Samuel 25:29; 2 Samuel 22:48; 1 Samuel 20:1; 1 Samuel 24:4; 1 Samuel 19:15
- 9 1 Kings 1:29; Genesis 48:16; Psalm 107:2; Psalm 34:6–7; Psalm 103:4
- 10 2 Samuel 1:2–16
- 11 Psalm 9:12; Proverbs 2:22; Genesis 9:5–6; Numbers 35:31–34; Habakkuk 1:4
- 12 2 Samuel 3:32; 2 Samuel 1:15; Psalm 55:23; 2 Samuel 21:9; Deuteronomy 21:22–23
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences