2 Samuel 21:1-3

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Justice for the Gibeonites

21 During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired of the Lord. The Lord answered, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family when 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^[a] the Lord’s inheritance?”