Ish-Bosheth Is Murdered
1Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul, heard that Abner had died in Hebron. Then he wasn’t so brave anymore. And all the Israelites became alarmed. 2Two men in Ish-Bosheth’s army led small fighting groups that attacked their enemies. The names of the men were Baanah and Rekab. They were sons of Rimmon from the town of Beeroth. Rimmon was from the tribe of Benjamin. Beeroth is considered to be part of Benjamin. 3That’s because the people who used to live in Beeroth had run away to Gittaim. They have lived there as outsiders to this day.
4Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son named Mephibosheth. Both of Mephibosheth’s feet were hurt. He was five years old when the news that Saul and Jonathan had died came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and ran. But as she hurried to get away, he fell down. That’s how his feet were hurt.
5Rekab and Baanah started out for the house of Ish-Bosheth. They were the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth. They arrived there during the hottest time of the day. Ish-Bosheth was taking his early afternoon nap. 6Rekab and his brother Baanah went into the inside part of the house. They acted as if they were going to get some wheat. Instead, they stabbed Ish-Bosheth in the stomach. Then they slipped away.
7They had gone into the house while Ish-Bosheth was lying on his bed in his bedroom. They stabbed him and killed him. Then they cut off his head and took it with them. They traveled all night through the Arabah Valley. 8They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to King David at Hebron. They said to him, “Here’s the head of Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul. Saul was your enemy. He often tried to kill you. Today the Lord has paid back Saul and his family. He has let you get even with them. You are our king and master.”
9David gave an answer to Rekab and his brother Baanah. They were the sons of Rimmon from Beeroth. David said, “The Lord has saved me from every trouble. 10Someone once told me, ‘Saul is dead.’ He thought he was bringing me good news. But I grabbed him. I had him put to death in Ziklag. That’s the reward I gave him for his news! And that’s just as sure as the Lord is alive. 11Now you evil men have killed a man in his own house. He hadn’t done anything wrong. You killed him while he was lying on his own bed. You spilled his blood. So shouldn’t I spill your blood? Shouldn’t I wipe you off the face of the earth?”
12Then David gave an order to his men. They killed Rekab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet. They hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they buried the head of Ish-Bosheth in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.
伊施波设被杀
1扫罗的儿子伊施波设听到押尼珥死在希伯仑，吓得手脚发软，整个以色列都震惊不已。 2那时，扫罗的儿子有两个带兵的将领，一个叫巴拿，一个叫利甲，他们是来自比录的便雅悯人临门的儿子。 3原来的比录人逃到基他音，寄居在那里，直到今日。
4扫罗的儿子约拿单有个儿子叫米非波设，双腿是瘸的。扫罗和约拿单在耶斯列阵亡的时候，他才五岁。乳娘抱着他仓皇逃命，不慎把他掉在地上，摔成了瘸子。
5一天，伊施波设正在午睡，临门的两个儿子利甲和巴拿来到他家。 6-7他们装作是来取麦子，进入伊施波设的寝室，趁他正躺在床上熟睡，用刀刺透他的肚子杀了他，割下他的首级，拿着连夜穿过亚拉巴逃跑了。 8他们把伊施波设的首级带到希伯仑献给大卫王，说：“这便是扫罗的儿子伊施波设的首级。扫罗是你的仇敌，曾试图杀害你，今天耶和华为我主我王惩罚了扫罗和他的子孙。” 9大卫对比录人临门的儿子利甲及其兄弟巴拿说：“我凭救我脱离一切危难的永活的耶和华起誓， 10在洗革拉曾有人向我报信说扫罗死了，他以为是来报喜讯，我抓住他，把他杀了。那就是我给他的报酬。 11更何况你们这些恶徒在这个无辜人的家里把他杀死在床上，我怎能不向你们讨这血债，把你们从世上除掉？” 12于是，大卫命令部下杀了他们，斩断他们的手脚，把尸体挂在希伯仑的池旁。他们把伊施波设的头颅葬在希伯仑押尼珥的坟墓里。
