¹ 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 Benjamin, for also Beeroth is reckoned to Benjamin,

³ and the Beerothites flee to Gittaim, and are there sojourners unto this day.

⁴ And to Jonathan son of Saul [is] a son -- lame; he was a son of five years at the coming in of the rumour of [the death of] Saul and Jonathan, out of Jezreel, and his nurse lifteth him up, and fleeth, and it cometh to pass in her hasting to flee, that he falleth, and becometh lame, and his name [is] Mephibosheth.

⁵ And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, go, and come in at the heat of the day unto the house of Ish-Bosheth, and he is lying down -- the lying down of noon;

⁶ and thither they have come, unto the midst of the house, taking wheat, and they smite him unto the fifth [rib], and Rechab and Baanah his brother have escaped;

⁷ yea, they come in to the house, and he is lying on his bed, in the inner part of his bed-chamber, and they smite him, and put him to death, and turn aside his head, and they take his head, and go the way of the plain all the night,

⁸ and bring in the head of Ish-Bosheth unto David in Hebron, and say unto the king, `Lo, the head of Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, thine enemy, who sought thy life; and Jehovah doth give to my lord the king vengeance this day, of Saul and of his seed.'

⁹ And David answereth Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and saith to them, `Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity,

¹⁰ when one is declaring to me, saying, Lo, Saul is dead, and he was as a bearer of tidings in his own eyes, then I take hold on him, and slay him in Ziklag, instead of my giving to him [for] the tidings.

¹¹ Also -- when wicked men have slain the righteous man in his own house, on his bed; and now, do not I require his blood of your hand, and have taken you away from the earth?'

¹² And David commandeth the young men, and they slay them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hang [them] over the pool in Hebron, and the head of Ish-Bosheth they have taken, and bury [it] in the burying-place of Abner in Hebron.

¹ Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!

² Go to Calneh, and see; and from there Go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?

³ Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

⁴ Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

⁵ who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;

⁶ who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

⁷ Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end.

⁸ "The Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself," says Yahweh, the God of Armies: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.

⁹ It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

¹⁰ "When a man's relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, 'Is there yet any with you?' And he says, 'No;' then he will say, 'Hush! Indeed we must not mention the name of Yahweh.'

¹¹ "For, behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.

¹² Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;

¹³ you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, 'Haven't we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?'

¹⁴ For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel," says Yahweh, the God of Armies; "and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah."