2 Samuel 21:1-3

Christian Standard Bible Anglicised

Justice for the Gibeonites

21 During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David enquired^[a] of the Lord. The Lord answered, ‘It is due to Saul and to his bloody family, because he killed the Gibeonites.’

² The Gibeonites were not Israelites but rather a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them,^(A) but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah. So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. ³ He asked the Gibeonites, ‘What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on^[b] the Lord’s inheritance? ’