2 Samuel 4 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

The Murder of Ishbosheth

2Sa 4:1When Ishbosheth,[fn] Saul’s son, heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear.

2Sa 4:2

2Sa 4:2Now 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

2Sa 4:3

2Sa 4:3because the original people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim, where they still live as foreigners.

2Sa 4:4

2Sa 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.)

2Sa 4:5

2Sa 4:5One day Recab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth, went to Ishbosheth’s house around noon as he was taking his midday rest.

2Sa 4:6

2Sa 4:6The doorkeeper, who had been sifting wheat, became drowsy and fell asleep. So Recab and Baanah slipped past her.[fn]

2Sa 4:7

2Sa 4:7They 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.

2Sa 4:8

2Sa 4:8When 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!”

2Sa 4:9

2Sa 4:9But David said to Recab and Baanah, “The LORD, who saves me from all my enemies, is my witness.

2Sa 4:10

2Sa 4:10Someone 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!

2Sa 4:11

2Sa 4:11How 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?”

2Sa 4:12

2Sa 4:12So 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.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(4:1)

Ishbosheth is another name for Esh-baal.

(4:4)

Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.

(4:6)

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.

(4:7)

Hebrew the Arabah.

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2 Samuel Chapter 4 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

2 Samuel 4 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

2 Samuel Chapter 4 — Additional Translations:

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