21:1 大衛年間有饑荒，一連三年，大衛就求問耶和華。耶和華說：「這饑荒是因掃羅和他流人血之家殺死基遍人。」
21:2 原來這基遍人不是以色列人，乃是亞摩利人中所剩的；以色列人曾向他們起誓，不殺滅他們，掃羅卻為以色列人和猶大人發熱心，想要殺滅他們。大衛王召了他們來，
21:3 問他們說：「我當為你們怎樣行呢？可用甚麼贖這罪，使你們為耶和華的產業祝福呢？」
21:4 基遍人回答說：「我們和掃羅與他家的事並不關乎金銀，也不要因我們的緣故殺一個以色列人。」大衛說：「你們怎樣說，我就為你們怎樣行。」
21:5 他們對王說：「那從前謀害我們、要滅我們、使我們不得再住以色列境內的人，
21:6 現在願將他的子孫七人交給我們，我們好在耶和華面前，將他們懸掛在耶和華揀選掃羅的基比亞。」王說：「我必交給你們。」
21:7 王因為曾與掃羅的兒子約拿單指著耶和華起誓結盟，就愛惜掃羅的孫子、約拿單的兒子米非波設，不交出來，
21:8 卻把愛雅的女兒利斯巴給掃羅所生的兩個兒子亞摩尼、米非波設，和掃羅女兒米甲的姊姊給米何拉人巴西萊兒子亞得列所生的五個兒子
21:9 交在基遍人的手裡。基遍人就把他們，在耶和華面前，懸掛在山上，這七人就一同死亡。被殺的時候正是收割的日子，就是動手割大麥的時候。
21:10 愛雅的女兒利斯巴用麻布在磐石上搭棚，從動手收割的時候直到天降雨在屍身上的時候，日間不容空中的雀鳥落在屍身上，夜間不讓田野的走獸前來糟踐。
21:11 有人將掃羅的妃嬪愛雅女兒利斯巴所行的這事告訴大衛。
21:12 大衛就去，從基列‧雅比人那裡將掃羅和他兒子約拿單的骸骨搬了來（是因非利士人從前在基利波殺掃羅，將屍身懸掛在伯‧珊的街市上，基列‧雅比人把屍身偷了去。）
21:13 大衛將掃羅和他兒子約拿單的骸骨從那裡搬了來，又收殮被懸掛七人的骸骨，
21:14 將掃羅和他兒子約拿單的骸骨葬在便雅憫的洗拉，在掃羅父親基士的墳墓裡；眾人行了王所吩咐的。此後上帝垂聽國民所求的。
21:15 非利士人與以色列人打仗；大衛帶領僕人下去，與非利士人接戰，大衛就疲乏了。
21:16 偉人的一個兒子以實‧比諾要殺大衛；他的銅槍重三百舍客勒，又佩著新刀。
21:17 但洗魯雅的兒子亞比篩幫助大衛，攻打非利士人，將他殺死。當日，跟隨大衛的人向大衛起誓說：「以後你不可再與我們一同出戰，恐怕熄滅以色列的燈。」
21:18 後來，以色列人在歌伯與非利士人打仗，戶沙人西比該殺了偉人的一個兒子撒弗。
21:19 又在歌伯與非利士人打仗，伯利恆人雅雷俄珥金的兒子伊勒哈難殺了迦特人歌利亞。這人的槍桿粗如織布的機軸。
21:20 又在迦特打仗，那裡有一個身量高大的人，手腳都是六指，共有二十四個指頭；他也是偉人的兒子。
21:21 這人向以色列人罵陣，大衛的哥哥示米亞的兒子約拿單就殺了他。
21:22 這四個人是迦特偉人的兒子，都死在大衛和他僕人的手下。
During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
2 The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) 3 David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?”
4 The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.
5 They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, 6 let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen one.”
So the king said, “I will give them to you.”
7 The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the Lord between David and Jonathan son of Saul. 8 But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab,[a] whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. 9 He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.
10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night. 11 When David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 12 he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. (They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.) 13 David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up.
14 They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land.
15 Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. 16 And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels[b] and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.”
18 In the course of time, there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gob. At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha.
19 In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair[c] the Bethlehemite killed the brother of[d] Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.
20 In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. 21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David’s brother, killed him.
22 These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.
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大衛清楚自己成為王的使命和責任，不是為了自己的好處來成為一個王！他知道要不是上帝的主權，祂是無法也是不配做以色列的王。也因為如此，他關心百姓的生活，雖然面對基遍人不合理的要求，而耶和華既然指示：「這饑荒是因掃羅和他流人血之家殺死基遍人。」大衛也就必須滿足基遍人的要求，才有真正的正義！
相信這也讓大衛學了一個重要的功課，即是是做王的，也不能破壞正義的原則！若是破壞了，要付出的代價是超過一般人的！正如摩西的律法說到：「人若使他鄰舍的身體有殘疾，他怎樣行，也要照樣向他行：以傷還傷，以眼還眼，以牙還牙。他怎樣叫人的身體有殘疾，也要照樣向他行。」（利未記24:19-20）
的確，人與人之間若有所虧欠，就是不正義！不正義等於就是沒有正義，沒有正義就沒有真正的和平，沒有真正的和平就是不平安！就像大衛面對基遍人和掃羅家族的事情。
而在這事上大衛有偏袒米非波設，這也是大衛和約拿單之間彼此的協定！雖然好像不公平，但是有許多事不能只用公平來解決，正如上帝也常常用恩典來勝過所謂的公平！
正如我們得上帝的救贖，更是出於上帝的主權之恩典，是勝過公平的！照道理我們不配得被上帝拯救，但是上帝仍然拯救我們！正如上帝對摩西說：「我要顯我一切的恩慈，在你面前經過，宣告我的名。我要恩待誰就恩待誰；要憐憫誰就憐憫誰」！（出埃及記33:19）
願我們常常記念上帝的憐憫和恩典，將一切的榮耀歸給上帝！也因為上帝既是正義又慈愛的上帝，我們才能享受到真正的平安！正如約翰一書1章9節說：「我們若認自己的罪，上帝是信實的，是公義(正義)的，必要赦免我們的罪，洗淨我們一切的不義。」
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