2 Samuel 4 - New International Version (NIV)

Ish-Bosheth Murdered

4 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner(A) had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth(B) is considered part of Benjamin, 3 because the people of Beeroth fled to Gittaim(C) and have resided there as foreigners to this day.

4 (Jonathan(D) son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news(E) about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled.(F) His name was Mephibosheth.)(G)

5 Now Rekab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out for the house of Ish-Bosheth,(H) and they arrived there in the heat of the day while he was taking his noonday rest.(I) 6 They went into the inner part of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed(J) him in the stomach. Then Rekab and his brother Baanah slipped away.

7 They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah.(K) 8 They brought the head(L) of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul,(M) your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged(N) my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

9 David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered(O) me out of every trouble, 10 when someone told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag.(P) That was the reward I gave him for his news! 11 How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood(Q) from your hand and rid the earth of you!”

12 So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them.(R) They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

Cross references

  1. 2 Samuel 4:1 : S 2Sa 3:27
  2. 2 Samuel 4:2 : S Jos 9:17
  3. 2 Samuel 4:3 : Ne 11:33
  4. 2 Samuel 4:4 : S 1Sa 18:1
  5. 2 Samuel 4:4 : S 1Sa 31:9
  6. 2 Samuel 4:4 : S Lev 21:18
  7. 2 Samuel 4:4 : 2Sa 9:8, 12; 16:1-4; 19:24; 21:7-8; 1Ch 8:34; 9:40
  8. 2 Samuel 4:5 : S 2Sa 2:8
  9. 2 Samuel 4:5 : Ru 2:7
  10. 2 Samuel 4:6 : S 2Sa 2:23
  11. 2 Samuel 4:7 : S Dt 3:17
  12. 2 Samuel 4:8 : 2Sa 20:21; 2Ki 10:7
  13. 2 Samuel 4:8 : 1Sa 24:4; 25:29
  14. 2 Samuel 4:8 : S Nu 31:3
  15. 2 Samuel 4:9 : S Ge 48:16; 1Ki 1:29
  16. 2 Samuel 4:10 : 2Sa 1:2-16
  17. 2 Samuel 4:11 : S Ge 4:10; 9:5; Ps 9:12; 72:14
  18. 2 Samuel 4:12 : 2Sa 1:15

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2 Samuel 4 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

4 And the son of Saul heareth that Abner [is] dead in Hebron, and his hands are feeble, and all Israel have been troubled. 2 And two men, heads of troops, have been [to] the son of Saul, the name of the one [is] Baanah, and the name of the second Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of...
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2 Samuel 4 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

4 And Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, heard that Abner had fallen down in Hebron; and his hands were discomforted, and all Israel was troubled. (And Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, heard that Abner had been killed in Hebron; and his hands were enfeebled, that is, he was afraid, and all Israel was troubled...
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2 Samuel 4 - World English Bible (WEB)

4 When Saul’s son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands became feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. 2 Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands. The name of one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benj...
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2 Samuel 4 - The Voice (VOICE)

4 When Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, heard that his general Abner was dead, murdered in Hebron, he panicked, and so did all Israel. 2 Now the two captains of Ish-bosheth’s raiding parties were Baanah and Rechab, the sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from the town of Beeroth (which was considered to bel...
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2 Samuel 4 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Assassination of Ish-bosheth4 Now when Saul’s son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, his courage sank, and all the Israelites were disturbed. 2 Saul’s son had two men who were commanders of raiding bands: the name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite o...
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2 Samuel 4 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Ishbaal Assassinated4 When Ish-bo′sheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Ba′anah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benj...
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2 Samuel 4 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Ishbaal Assassinated4 When Ish-bo′sheth, Saul’s son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Ba′anah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benj...
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2 Samuel 4 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Ishbaal Assassinated4 When Saul’s son Ishbaal[a] heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. 2 Saul’s son had two captains of raiding bands; the name of one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from Beeroth—f...
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2 Samuel 4 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Ishbaal Assassinated4 When Saul’s son Ishbaal[a] heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed.(A)2 Saul’s son had two captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other was Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from ...
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2 Samuel 4 - New Living Translation (NLT)

The Murder of Ishbosheth4 When Ishbosheth,[a] Saul’s son, heard about Abner’s death at Hebron, he lost all courage, and all Israel became paralyzed with fear. 2 Now there were two brothers, Baanah and Recab, who were captains of Ishbosheth’s raiding parties. They were sons of Rimmon, a member of the...
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2 Samuel 4 - New Life Version (NLV)

Ish-bosheth Is Killed4 When Saul’s son Ish-bosheth heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost his strength of heart. All Israel was troubled. 2 Saul’s son had two men who were captains of small armies. The name of one was Baanah, and the name of the other was Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon the ...
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2 Samuel 4 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Ishbosheth Is Murdered4 When Saul’s [a]son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, (A)he[b] lost heart, and all Israel was (B)troubled. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the child...
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2 Samuel 4 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Ish-Bosheth murdered4 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe of...
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2 Samuel 4 - New International Version (NIV)

Ish-Bosheth Murdered4 When Ish-Bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner(A) had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel became alarmed. 2 Now Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding bands. One was named Baanah and the other Rekab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the tribe ...
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2 Samuel 4 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Ish-Bosheth Is Murdered4 Ish-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. 2 Two men in Ish-Bosheth’s army led small fighting groups that attacked their enemies. The names of the men were Baanah and Rekab. They...
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2 Samuel 4 - New English Translation (NET)

Ish Bosheth is killed4 When Ish Bosheth[a] the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he was very disheartened,[b] and all Israel was afraid. 2 Now Saul’s son[c] had two men who were in charge of raiding units; one was named Baanah and the other Recab. They were sons of Rimmon the Beeroth...
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