2 Samuel 4:8

⁶ They entered the interior of the house as if to get some wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah slipped away.

⁷ They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed, and having stabbed and killed him, they beheaded him, took his head, and traveled all night by way of the Arabah.

They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life. Today the LORD has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

⁹ But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,

¹⁰ when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life. Today the LORD has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”
KJV: And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
WEB: They brought the head of Ishbosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life! The LORD has avenged my lord the king today of Saul and of his offspring.”
ASV: And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, thine enemy, who sought thy life; and Jehovah hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
DARBY: And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David in Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, thine enemy who sought thy life; and Jehovah has given to my lord the king to be avenged this day of Saul and of his seed.
BLB: And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and they said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life. And YHWH has given my lord the king vengeance this day of Saul and of his seed.”

ÅB: Og de kom med Isbosets hode til David i Hebron og sa til kongen: Se, her er hodet av Isboset, sønn til Saul, din fiende som sto deg etter livet; slik har Herren på denne dag gitt min herre kongen hevn over Saul og hans slekt.
OTB: Så brakte de hodet til Ishbosjet til David i Hebron, og sa til kongen, "Se, hodet til Ishbosjet, Sauls sønn, din fiende, som søkte ditt liv; Herren har gitt min herre kongen hevn denne dagen over Saul og hans etterkommere."
B1930: Og de kom med Isbosets hode til David i Hebron og sa til kongen: Se, her er hodet av Isboset, sønn til Saul, din fiende som stod dig efter livet; således har Herren på denne dag gitt min herre kongen hevn over Saul og hans ætt.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

1 Samuel 25:29
And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.
Read in context
2 Samuel 22:48
the God who avenges me and brings down nations beneath me,
Read in context
1 Samuel 20:1
Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? How have I sinned against your father, that he wants to take my life?”
Read in context
1 Samuel 24:4
So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up secretly and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
Read in context
1 Samuel 19:15
But Saul sent the messengers back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so I can kill him.”
Read in context
Revelation 18:20
Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.
Read in context
1 Samuel 18:11
and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
Read in context
Psalms 63:9–10
But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth.
Read in context