1 And when [Ish-bosheth], Saul’s son, heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands became feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. 2 And [Ish-bosheth], Saul’s son, [had ]two men that were captains of bands: the name of the 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 reckoned to Benjamin: 3 and the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have been sojourners there until this day.) 4 Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. 5 And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, as he took his rest at noon. 6 And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him in the belly: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. 7 Now when they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and went by the way of the Arabah all night. 8 And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed. 9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, 10 when one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his tidings. 11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed, shall I not now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? 12 And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth, and buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.
2 Samuel · Revised Version with Apocrypha
2 Samuel 4 Revised Version with Apocrypha
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
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
Ish-bosheth
Saul's son who briefly reigned over the northern tribes in rivalry with David.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 2:8-10; 2 Samuel 4
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