2 Samuel 21:7

THE MESSAGE

The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the promise David and Jonathan had spoken before God . But the king selected Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, plus the five sons that Saul's daughter Merab had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He turned them over to the Gibeonites who hanged them on the mountain before God —all seven died together. Harvest was just getting underway, the beginning of the barley harvest, when they were executed.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
David spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between David and Jonathan, Saul’s son.

Hebrew Names Version
But the king spared Mefivoshet, the son of Yonatan the son of Sha'ul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Yonatan the son of Sha'ul.

King James Version
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the Lord 's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

Lexham English Bible
But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the sworn oath of Yahweh which was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

English Standard Version
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 the son of Saul.

New Century Version
But the king protected Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the promise he had made to Jonathan in the Lord 's name.

New English Translation
The king had mercy on Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, in light of the Lord 's oath that had been taken between David and Jonathan son of Saul.

Amplified Bible
But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between David and Saul's son Jonathan.

New American Standard Bible
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath of the LORD which was between them, between David and Saul's son Jonathan.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But the King had compassion on Mephibosheth the sonne of Ionathan the sonne of Saul, because of the Lordes othe, that was betweene them, euen betweene Dauid and Ionathan the sonne of Saul.

Legacy Standard Bible
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of Yahweh which was between them, between David and Saul's son Jonathan.

Contemporary English Version
David had made a promise to Jonathan with the Lord as his witness, so he spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul.

Complete Jewish Bible
But the king spared M'fivoshet, the son of Y'honatan the son of Sha'ul, because of the oath before Adonai between David and Y'honatan the son of Sha'ul.

Darby Translation
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of Jehovah's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

Easy-to-Read Version
But the king protected Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth. Jonathan was Saul's son, and David had made a promise in the Lord 's name to Jonathan. So the king did not let them hurt Mephibosheth.

George Lamsa Translation
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORDS oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

Good News Translation
But because of the sacred promise that he and Jonathan had made to each other, David spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul.

Literal Translation
But the king spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth the son of Saul because of the oath of Jehovah that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Howbeit the kynge spared Mephiboseth ye sonne of Ionathas ye sonne of Saul, because of the ooth of the LORDE yt was betwene them: namely, betwene Dauid & Ionathas the sonne of Saul.

American Standard Version
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of Jehovah's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

Bible in Basic English
But the king did not give up Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the Lord's oath made between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But the king had compassion on Miphiboseth the sonne of Ionathan the sonne of Saul, because of the Lordes oth that was betweene them, euen betweene Dauid & Ionathan the sonne of Saul.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

King James Version (1611)
But the king spared Mephibosheth the sonne of Ionathan the sonne of Saul, because of the Lords othe that was between them, betweene Dauid, and Ionathan the sonne of Saul.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But the king spared Memphibosthe son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, even between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

English Revised Version
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

Berean Standard Bible
Now the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the kyng sparide Myphibosech, sone of Jonathas, sone of Saul, for the ooth of the Lord, that was bitwixe Dauid and bitwixe Jonathas, sone of Saul.

Young's Literal Translation
and the king hath pity on Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul, because of the oath of Jehovah that [is] between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul;

Update Bible Version
But the king spared Mephibaal, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of Yahweh's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

Webster's Bible Translation
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that [was] between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

World English Bible
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of Yahweh's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

New King James Version
But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

New Living Translation
The king spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, who was Saul's grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord .

New Life Bible
But the king kept alive Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because David had made a promise to Saul's son Jonathan before the Lord.

New Revised Standard
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.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But the king had pity upon Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, Saul's son, - because of the oath of Yahweh that was between them, between David and Jonathan, Saul's son.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king spared Miphiboseth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord, that had been between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

Revised Standard Version
But the king spared Mephib'osheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the LORD which was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the LORD which was between them, between David and Saul's son Jonathan.

Contextual Overview

¹ There was a famine in David's time. It went on year after year after year—three years. David went to God seeking the reason. God said, "This is because there is blood on Saul and his house, from the time he massacred the Gibeonites." ² So the king called the Gibeonites together for consultation. (The Gibeonites were not part of Israel; they were what was left of the Amorites, and protected by a treaty with Israel. But Saul, a fanatic for the honor of Israel and Judah, tried to kill them off.) ³ David addressed the Gibeonites: "What can I do for you? How can I compensate you so that you will bless God 's legacy of land and people?" ⁴ The Gibeonites replied, "We don't want any money from Saul and his family. And it's not up to us to put anyone in Israel to death." But David persisted: "What are you saying I should do for you?" ⁵Then they told the king, "The man who tried to get rid of us, who schemed to wipe us off the map of Israel—well, let seven of his sons be handed over to us to be executed—hanged before God at Gibeah of Saul, the holy mountain." And David agreed, "I'll hand them over to you." ⁷The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the promise David and Jonathan had spoken before God . But the king selected Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, plus the five sons that Saul's daughter Merab had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He turned them over to the Gibeonites who hanged them on the mountain before God —all seven died together. Harvest was just getting underway, the beginning of the barley harvest, when they were executed.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Mephibosheth: 2 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 9:10, 2 Samuel 16:4, 2 Samuel 19:25

because: 1 Samuel 18:3, 1 Samuel 20:8, 1 Samuel 20:15, 1 Samuel 20:17, 1 Samuel 20:42, 1 Samuel 23:18

Reciprocal: Leviticus 5:4 - to do evil Joshua 2:17 - General Joshua 6:22 - as ye sware unto her Joshua 9:18 - had sworn Proverbs 18:24 - that hath Proverbs 27:10 - own

Cross-References

Genesis 21:11
The matter gave great pain to Abraham—after all, Ishmael was his son. But God spoke to Abraham, "Don't feel badly about the boy and your maid. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your descendants will come through Isaac. Regarding your maid's son, be assured that I'll also develop a great nation from him—he's your son, too."

Psalms 86:8
There's no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord, and nothing to compare with your works. All the nations you made are on their way, ready to give honor to you, O Lord, Ready to put your beauty on display, parading your greatness, And the great things you do— God, you're the one, there's no one but you!

Ephesians 3:10
The Secret Plan of God This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief. As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul,.... As they did not name particular persons, only required seven sons, it was at the option of the king what sons to deliver to them, and therefore kept back Mephibosheth, who is thus described, to distinguish him from a son of Saul's of the same name, after mentioned:

because of the Lord's oath that [was] between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul; not merely or only out of affection to Mephibosheth, but because of the oath, that he might not be guilty of the same crime Saul was in slaying the Gibeonites.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Lord’s oath - The calamity brought upon Israel by Saul’s breach of the oath to the Gibeonites would make David doubly careful in the matter of his own oath to Jonathan.