Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

So 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 tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)

David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make expiation, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord ?”

The 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 anyone to death in Israel.” He said, “What do you say that I should do for you?”

They 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—

let seven of his sons be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the Lord at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord.” The king said, “I will hand them over.”

But 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 son of Saul.

The king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite;

he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they impaled them on the mountain before the Lord. The seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.

Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it on a rock for herself, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them from the heavens; she did not allow the birds of the air to come on the bodies by day, or the wild animals by night.

When David was told what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done,

David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the people of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.

He brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who had been impaled.

They buried the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of his father Kish; they did all that the king commanded. After that, God heeded supplications for the land.
Exploits of David's Men

The Philistines went to war again with Israel, and David went down together with his servants. They fought against the Philistines, and David grew weary.

Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was fitted out with new weapons, said he would kill David.

But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, “You shall not go out with us to battle any longer, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel.”

After this a battle took place with the Philistines, at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants.

Then there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great size, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; he too was descended from the giants.

When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of David's brother Shimei, killed him.

These four were descended from the giants in Gath; they fell by the hands of David and his servants.

The Last Words of David

Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:

The spirit of the Lord speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue.

The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God,

is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.

Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?

But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand;

to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.
David's Mighty Men

These are the names of the warriors whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three; he wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

Next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle. The Israelites withdrew,

but he stood his ground. He struck down the Philistines until his arm grew weary, though his hand clung to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. Then the people came back to him—but only to strip the dead.

Next to him was Shammah son of Agee, the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the army fled from the Philistines.

But he took his stand in the middle of the plot, defended it, and killed the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.

Towards the beginning of harvest three of the thirty chiefs went down to join David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem.

David said longingly, “O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!”

Then the three warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord ,

for he said, “The Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.

Now Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty. With his spear he fought against three hundred men and killed them, and won a name beside the Three.

He was the most renowned of the Thirty, and became their commander; but he did not attain to the Three.

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant warrior from Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.

And he killed an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but Benaiah went against him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.

Such were the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and won a name beside the three warriors.

He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

Among the Thirty were Asahel brother of Joab; Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem;

Shammah of Harod; Elika of Harod;

Helez the Paltite; Ira son of Ikkesh of Tekoa;

Abiezer of Anathoth; Mebunnai the Hushathite;

Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai of Netophah;

Heleb son of Baanah of Netophah; Ittai son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjaminites;

Benaiah of Pirathon; Hiddai of the torrents of Gaash;

Abi-albon the Arbathite; Azmaveth of Bahurim;

Eliahba of Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen: Jonathan

son of Shammah the Hararite; Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite;

Eliphelet son of Ahasbai of Maacah; Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite;

Hezro of Carmel; Paarai the Arbite;

Igal son of Nathan of Zobah; Bani the Gadite;

Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah;

Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite;

Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.