2 Samuel 21:6

New Century Version

So bring seven of his sons to us. Then we will kill them and hang them on stakes in the presence of the Lord at Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, the Lord 's chosen king." The king said, "I will give them to you."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang them in the presence of the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the Lord’s chosen.”

Hebrew Names Version
let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to the LORD in Gevah of Sha'ul, the chosen of the LORD. The king said, I will give them.

King James Version
Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.

Lexham English Bible
let seven men from his sons be given over to us, and we will execute them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of Yahweh." Then the king said, "I will give them over."

English Standard Version
let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord ." And the king said, "I will give them."

New English Translation
let seven of his male descendants be turned over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was the Lord 's chosen one." The king replied, "I will turn them over."

Amplified Bible
let seven men [chosen] from his sons (descendants) be given to us and we will hang them before the LORD [that is, put them on display, impaled with broken legs and arms] in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of the LORD." And the king said, "I will give them."

New American Standard Bible
let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD." And the king said, "I will give them."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Let seuen men of his sonnes be deliuered vnto vs, and we will hang them vp vnto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the Lordes chosen. And the King said, I will giue them.

Legacy Standard Bible
let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Yahweh." And the king said, "I will give them."

Contemporary English Version
Give us seven of his descendants. We will hang these men near the place where the Lord is worshiped in Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, the Lord 's chosen king." "I'll give them to you," David said.

Complete Jewish Bible
have seven of his male descendants handed over to us, and we will put them to death by hanging before Adonai in Giv‘ah of Sha'ul, whom Adonai chose." The king said, "I will hand them over."

Darby Translation
let seven men of his sons be given up to us, and we will hang them up to Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will give [them].

Easy-to-Read Version
Give us seven of Saul's sons. Saul was the Lord 's chosen king, so we will hang his sons in front of the Lord on Mount Gibeah of Saul." King David said, "All right, I will give them to you."

George Lamsa Translation
Let seven of his sons be delivered to us, and we will sacrifice them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul. And the king said, I will give them.

Good News Translation
So hand over seven of his male descendants, and we will hang them before the Lord at Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, the Lord 's chosen king." "I will hand them over," the king answered.

Literal Translation
Let be given to us seven men of his sons to us. And we will expose them to Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will deliver them.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Let there be geuen vs seuen men of his sonnes, that we maye hange them vp vnto the LORDE at Gibea of Saul the chosen of the LORDE. The kynge sayde: I wyll geue them.

American Standard Version
let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto Jehovah in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah. And the king said, I will give them.

Bible in Basic English
Let seven men of his family be given up to us and we will put an end to them by hanging them before the Lord in Gibeon, on the hill of the Lord. And the king said, I will give them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Let seuen men of his sonnes be deliuered vnto vs, & we will hang them vp vnto the Lorde in Gibeah of Saul whom ye Lord did choose. And the king saide: I will geue them you.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.' And the king said: 'I will deliver them.'

King James Version (1611)
Let seuen men of his sonnes bee deliuered vnto vs, and wee will hang them vp vnto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whome the Lord did chuse. And the king said, I will giue them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Let one give us seven men of his sons, and let us hang them up in the sun to the Lord in Gabaon of Saul, as chosen out for the Lord. And the king said, I will give them.

English Revised Version
let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD; And the king said, I will give them.

Berean Standard Bible
let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD." "I will give them to you," said the king.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Seuene men of hise sones be youun to vs, that we `crucifie hem to the Lord in Gabaa of Saul, sum tyme the chosun man of the Lord. And the kyng seide, Y schal yyue.

Young's Literal Translation
let there be given to us seven men of his sons, and we have hanged them before Jehovah, in the height of Saul, the chosen of Jehovah.' And the king saith, `I do give;'

Update Bible Version
let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Yahweh. And the king said, I will give them.

Webster's Bible Translation
Let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, [whom] the LORD chose. And the king said, I will give [them].

World English Bible
let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Yahweh. The king said, I will give them.

New King James Version
let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD chose." And the king said, "I will give them."

New Living Translation
So let seven of Saul's sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord ." "All right," the king said, "I will do it."

New Life Bible
Let seven men from his sons be given to us. We will hang them before the Lord at Gibeon on the Lord's mountain." And the king said, "I will give them."

New Revised Standard
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."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
let there be delivered up to us - seven men of his sons, and we will crucify them unto Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of Yahweh. And the king said, I, will deliver them up.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Let seven men of his children be delivered unto us, that we may crucify them to the Lord in Gabaa of Saul, once the chosen of the Lord. And the king said: I will give them.

Revised Standard Version
let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them up before the LORD at Gibeon on the mountain of the LORD." And the king said, "I will give them."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD." And the king said, "I will give them."

Contextual Overview

¹ During the time David was king, there was a shortage of food that lasted for three years. So David prayed to the Lord . The Lord answered, "Saul and his family of murderers are the reason for this shortage, because he killed the Gibeonites." ² (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites; they were a group of Amorites who were left alive. The Israelites had promised not to hurt the Gibeonites, but Saul had tried to kill them, because he was eager to help the people of Israel and Judah.) King David called the Gibeonites together and spoke to them. ³ He asked, "What can I do for you? How can I make up for the harm done so you can bless the Lord 's people?" ⁴ The Gibeonites said to David, "We cannot demand silver or gold from Saul or his family. And we don't have the right to kill anyone in Israel." Then David asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" ⁵ The Gibeonites said, "Saul made plans against us and tried to destroy all our people who are left in the land of Israel. ⁶ So bring seven of his sons to us. Then we will kill them and hang them on stakes in the presence of the Lord at Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, the Lord 's chosen king." The king said, "I will give them to you." ⁷ 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. ⁸ The king did take Armoni and Mephibosheth, sons of Rizpah and Saul. (Rizpah was the daughter of Aiah.) And the king took the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab. (Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite was the father of Merab's five sons.) ⁹ David gave these seven sons to the Gibeonites. Then the Gibeonites killed them and hung them on stakes on a hill in the presence of the Lord . All seven sons died together. They were put to death during the first days of the harvest season at the beginning of barley harvest.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Let seven: As God accepted the expiation here demanded, we must suppose that both the enquiry of David, and the answer of the Gibeonites, were directed by some open or secret intimation from him.

hang: 2 Samuel 17:23, 2 Samuel 18:10, Genesis 40:19, Genesis 40:22, Numbers 25:4, Numbers 25:5, Deuteronomy 21:22, Joshua 8:29, Joshua 10:26, Ezra 6:11, Esther 9:10, Esther 9:13, Esther 9:14, Matthew 27:5

in: 1 Samuel 10:26, 1 Samuel 11:4

whom the Lord did choose: or, the chosen of the Lord, 1 Samuel 9:16, 1 Samuel 9:17, 1 Samuel 10:1, 1 Samuel 10:24, Acts 13:21

Reciprocal: Exodus 20:5 - visiting Deuteronomy 21:23 - he that is hanged is accursed of God 1 Samuel 13:2 - in Gibeah 1 Samuel 24:21 - that thou 2 Samuel 21:9 - before the Lord 1 Chronicles 2:49 - Gibea 1 Chronicles 12:3 - Gibeathite Hosea 5:8 - Gibeah

Cross-References

Genesis 17:17
Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, "Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is ninety?"

Genesis 21:12
But God said to Abraham, "Don't be troubled about the boy and the slave woman. Do whatever Sarah tells you. The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac.

Genesis 21:15
Later, when all the water was gone from the bag, Hagar put her son under a bush.

Genesis 21:21
He lived in the Desert of Paran, and his mother found a wife for him in Egypt.

Genesis 21:22
Then Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.

Genesis 21:27
Then Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, and they made an agreement.

Genesis 21:28
Abraham also put seven female lambs in front of Abimelech.

Psalms 113:9
He gives children to the woman who has none and makes her a happy mother. Praise the Lord !

Psalms 126:2
Then we were filled with laughter, and we sang happy songs. Then the other nations said, "The Lord has done great things for them."

Isaiah 49:15
The Lord answers, "Can a woman forget the baby she nurses? Can she feel no kindness for the child to which she gave birth? Even if she could forget her children, I will not forget you.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us,.... They settled upon this number, either because they were seven, and no more of the Gibeonites, whom Saul slew, as the Jew say i; two hewers of wood, two drawers of water, a keeper (of a synagogue), a scribe, and a servant; but perhaps the true reason was, they knew there were no more besides Mephibosheth, for whom David had a great respect, and therefore required no more:

and we will hang them up unto the Lord; not to gratify a revengeful spirit of theirs, but in honour to the justice of God, and to appease his wrath:

in Gibeah of Saul, [whom] the Lord did choose; which was Saul's native place, and where he always lived; so that to hang them there was to the greater disgrace of him and his family; and he being chosen of the Lord to be a king of Israel, was an aggravation of his crime in violating the oath made to the Gibeonites

and the king said, I will give [them]; for though he had sworn to Saul that he would not cut off his seed, yet as he had a divine direction in this case, as appears by the Lord's being pleased with it, and was entreated for the land by it, this oath of his was dispensed with; nor did he cut them off himself but delivered them to others, according to the will of God.

i T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 65. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Seven men - Seven was a sacred number not only with the Hebrews but with other Oriental nations Numbers 23:1, Numbers 23:29, and is therefore brought in on this occasion when the judicial death of the sons of Saul was a religious act intended to appease the wrath of God for the violation of an oath Numbers 25:4.

Whom the Lord did choose - Rather, “the Lord’s chosen,” or elect. The same phrase is applied to Moses Psalms 106:23, to the Israelites Isaiah 43:20, and to Christ Isaiah 42:1.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 21:6. Seven men of his sons — Meaning sons, grandsons, or other near branches of his family. It is supposed that the persons chosen were principal in assisting Saul to exterminate the Gibeonites. But where is the proof of this?