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That is not the case! But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David; give him up alone, and I will withdraw from the city." The woman said to Joab, "His head shall be thrown over the wall to you."

Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord . The Lord said, "There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death."

So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)

The Gibeonites said to him, "It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put anyone to death in Israel." He said, "What do you say that I should do for you?"

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."

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." 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. The king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite; he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they impaled them on the mountain before the Lord . The seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.

David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the people of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.

He brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who had been impaled.

They buried the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of his father Kish; they did all that the king commanded. After that, God heeded supplications for the land.

The Philistines went to war again with Israel, and David went down together with his servants. They fought against the Philistines, and David grew weary.

But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, "You shall not go out with us to battle any longer, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel."

These four were descended from the giants in Gath; they fell by the hands of David and his servants.

David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

In my distress I called upon the Lord ; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.

Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.

He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.

The Lord thundered from heaven; the Most High uttered his voice.

Then the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were laid bare at the rebuke of the Lord , at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

For all his ordinances were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside.

Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.