4
1 And when Ben Sha'ul* heard that Avner was dead in Chevron, his hands fell limp; kol Yisroel became alarmed.
2 And Ben Sha'ul had two anashim that were sarei gedudim (captains of raiding parties); the shem of the one was Ba'anah, and the shem of the other Rechav; these were the Bnei Rimmon HaBe'eroti, of the Bnei Binyamin: (for [the town of] Be'erot was reckoned as part of Binyamin.) 3 And the Be'eroti fled to Gittayim, and were sojourners there until this day.
4 And Yonatan Ben Sha'ul had a ben that was nekheh raglayim (lame in both feet). He was five years old when the news came of Sha'ul and Yonatan from Yizre'el (Jezreel), and his nurse took him up, and fled; and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame, and shmo Mephivoshet.
5 And the Bnei Rimmon HaBe'eroti, Rechav and Ba'anah, went, and came about chom hayom (the heat of the day) to the bais Ish-Boshet, who lay on a bed at tzahorayim (noon). 6 And they came into the midst of the bais, as though they would have been getting chittim; and they stabbed him under the fifth rib; and Rechav and Ba'anah achiv (his brother) escaped. 7 For when they had gone into the bais, he lay on his mittah (bed) in his chedar mishkav (bedroom), and they stabbed him, and killed him, and beheaded him, and took his rosh, and got away through the derech HaAravah kol halailah. 8 And they brought the rosh Ish-Boshet unto Dovid at Chevron, and said to HaMelech, Hinei the rosh Ish-Boshet Ben Sha'ul thine oyev (enemy), which sought thy nefesh; and Hashem hath given nekamot (vengeance) against Sha'ul unto adoni HaMelech this day, and of his zera.
9 And Dovid answered Rechav and Ba'anah achiv, the Bnei Rimmon HaBe'eroti, and said unto them, As Hashem liveth, who hath padah (ransomed, redeemed) my nefesh out of kol tzarah, 10 When one told me, saying, Hinei, Sha'ul is dead, thinking he was like mevaser (one who brings glad tidings, good news, evangelist), I took hold of him, and slaughtered him in Tziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his besorah (good news); 11 How much more, when anashim resha'im have slain an ish tzaddik in his own bais upon his mishkav (bed)? Shall I not therefore now require his dahm of your yad, and take you away from HaAretz?
12 And Dovid commanded his ne'arim (young men), and they slaughtered them, and cut off their yadayim and their raglayim, and hung them up over the berekhah (pool) in Chevron. But they took the rosh Ish-Boshet, and buried it in the kever of Avner in Chevron.
* 4:1 Ish-Boshet