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The Blue Letter Bible

2 Samuel 4 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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The Murder of Ishbosheth
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:1 - When Ishbosheth,[fn] Saul’s son, heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:2 - Now there were two brothers, Baanah and Recab, who were captains of Ishbosheth’s raiding parties. They were sons of Rimmon, a member of the tribe of Benjamin who lived in Beeroth. The town of Beeroth is now part of Benjamin’s territory
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:3 - because the original people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as foreigners.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:4 - (Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth,[fn] who was crippled as a child. He was five years old when the report came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. When the child’s nurse heard the news, she picked him up and fled. But as she hurried away, she dropped him, and he became crippled.)
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:5 - One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth’s house around noon as he was taking his midday rest.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:6 - The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past her.[fn]
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:7 - They went into the house and found Ishbosheth sleeping on his bed. They struck and killed him and cut off his head. Then, taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley[fn] through the night.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:8 - When they arrived at Hebron, they presented Ishbosheth’s head to David. “Look!” they exclaimed to the king. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the LORD has given my lord the king revenge on Saul and his entire family!”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:9 - But David said to Recab and Baanah, “The LORD, who saves me from all my enemies, is my witness.
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:10 - Someone once told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That’s the reward I gave him for his news!
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:11 - How much more should I reward evil men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you?”
Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 4:12 - So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.
NLT Footnotes
Ishbosheth is another name for Esh-baal.
Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.
As in Greek version; Hebrew reads So they went into the house pretending to fetch wheat, but they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Recab and Baanah escaped.
Hebrew the Arabah.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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2 Samuel Chapter 4 — Additional Translations: