2 Samuel 21:4
New International Version
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.

New Living Translation
“Well, money can’t settle this matter between us and the family of Saul,” the Gibeonites replied. “Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel.” “What can I do then?” David asked. “Just tell me and I will do it for you.”

English Standard Version
The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?”

Berean Standard Bible
The Gibeonites said to him, “We need no silver or gold from Saul or his house, nor should you put to death anyone in Israel for us.” “Whatever you ask, I will do for you,” he replied.

King James Bible
And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

New King James Version
And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.” So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”

New American Standard Bible
Then the Gibeonites said to him, “For us it is not a matter of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put anyone to death in Israel.” Nevertheless David said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

NASB 1995
Then the Gibeonites said to him, “We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

NASB 1977
Then the Gibeonites said to him, “We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the Gibeonites said to him, “We have no concern of silver or gold with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

Amplified Bible
The Gibeonites said to him, “We will not accept silver or gold belonging to Saul or his household (descendants); nor is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” David said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

Christian Standard Bible
The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for silver and gold from Saul or his family, and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel.” “Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for money from Saul or his family, and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel."” Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said.

American Standard Version
And the Gibeonites said unto him, It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul, or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The Gebunites said to him: “It is not money and gold that Shaul and his house owed to us, and there is no man for us to kill in Israel.” He said to them: “And what do you say I shall do for you?”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Gabaonites said to him, We have no question about silver or gold with Saul and with his house; and there is no man for us to put to death in Israel.

Contemporary English Version
The Gibeonites answered, "Silver and gold from Saul and his family are not enough. On the other hand, we don't have the right to put any Israelite to death." David said, "I'll do whatever you ask."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Gabaonites said to him: We have no contest about silver and gold, but against Saul and against his house: neither do we desire that any man be slain of Israel. And the king said to them: What will you then that I should do for you?

English Revised Version
And the Gibeonites said unto him, It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul, or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"We do not want silver or gold from Saul's family," the Gibeonites answered him. "And none of us wants to kill [anyone] in Israel." The king asked, "What are you saying that I should do for you?"

Good News Translation
They answered, "Our quarrel with Saul and his family can't be settled with silver or gold, nor do we want to kill any Israelite." "What, then, do you think I should do for you?" David asked.

International Standard Version
"We're not looking for mere silver or gold to be paid by Saul or his household to us," the Gibeonites responded to him. "And it's not for us to execute anyone in Israel." In reply, David asked, "So what are you asking me to do for you?"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the Gibeonites said unto him: 'It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul, or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.' And he said: 'What say ye that I should do for you?'

Literal Standard Version
And the Gibeonites say to him, “We have no silver and gold by Saul and by his house, and we have no man to put to death in Israel”; and he says, “What you are saying I do to you.”

Majority Standard Bible
The Gibeonites said to him, “We need no silver or gold from Saul or his house, nor should you put to death anyone in Israel for us.” “Whatever you ask, I will do for you,” he replied.

New American Bible
The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no claim against Saul and his house for silver or gold, nor is it our place to put anyone to death in Israel.” Then he said, “I will do for you whatever you propose.”

NET Bible
The Gibeonites said to him, "We have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family, nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel." David asked, "What then are you asking me to do for you?"

New Revised Standard Version
The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put anyone to death in Israel.” He said, “What do you say that I should do for you?”

New Heart English Bible
The Gibeonites said to him, "It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul, or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel." He said, "Whatever you say, that will I do for you."

Webster's Bible Translation
And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

World English Bible
The Gibeonites said to him, “It is no matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” He said, “I will do for you whatever you say.”

Young's Literal Translation
And the Gibeonites say to him, 'We have no silver and gold by Saul and by his house, and we have no man to put to death in Israel;' and he saith, 'What ye are saying I do to you.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
David Avenges the Gibeonites
3So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?” 4The Gibeonites said to him, “We need no silver or gold from Saul or his house, nor should you put to death anyone in Israel for us.” “Whatever you ask, I will do for you,” he replied. 5And they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us to exterminate us from existing within any border of Israel,…

Cross References
Numbers 35:31
You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.

Numbers 35:32
Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.


Treasury of Scripture

And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shall you kill any man in Israel. And he said, What you shall say, that will I do for you.

We will, etc.

no silver

Psalm 49:6-8
They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; …

1 Peter 1:18,19
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; …

Jump to Previous
Concern David Death Demand Family Gibeonites Gold House Israel Kill Matter Question Receiving Right Saul Silver Want Whatever
Jump to Next
Concern David Death Demand Family Gibeonites Gold House Israel Kill Matter Question Receiving Right Saul Silver Want Whatever
2 Samuel 21
1. The three year Gibeonite famine ceases, by hanging seven of Saul's sons.
10. Rizpah's kindness unto the dead
12. David buries the bones of Saul and Jonathan in his father's tomb
15. Four battles against the Philistines, wherein four men of David slay four giants.














(4) No silver nor gold.--Money compensations for sins of blood were extremely common among all ancient nations, but were expressly forbidden in the Law of Moses (Numbers 35:31), and in this respect the Gibeonites appear to have accepted the teaching of the law of Israel.

Kill any man in Israel.--Notwithstanding that the guilt of Saul's sin, until it should be expiated, rested upon all Israel, the Gibeonites recognise that it had been committed by him, and do not seek that, apart from their connection with him, any Israelite should suffer on their account. David appreciates the fairness of their view of the matter, and promises beforehand to do whatever they shall require.

Verse 4. - No silver nor gold. It is a common practice in most semi-civilized nations for a fine to be accepted as compensation for the shedding of blood. As no distinction was drawn between murder and homicide, and as the nearest relative was bound in every case to revenge the blood shed, the custom of receiving a money compensation gradually grew up to prevent the tribe or nation being torn to pieces by interminable revenge. The Arabs still retain this usage, but it was forbidden by the Levitical Law (Numbers 35:31), and rightly so, because a distinction was there made between murder and accidental bloodshed, and precautions taken for the rescue of one who had not acted with malice. Neither for us shalt thou kill any turn in Israel. The singular is used at the beginning of their answer, in the same way as in 2 Samuel 19:42, 43. Literally their words are, It is not to me a matter of silver and gold with Saul and his house, nor is it for us to put to death any one in Israel; that is, "We refuse a money compensation, and it is beyond our power to exact the blood penalty which would gratify our anger." They make it quite plain that they do want blood, while the Authorized Version makes them say that they do not. The Revised Version more correctly translates, "Neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The Gibeonites
הַגִּבְעֹנִ֗ים (hag·giḇ·‘ō·nîm)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 1393: Gibeonites -- inhabitants of Gibeon

said to him,
וַיֹּ֧אמְרוּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“We need no
אֵֽין־ (’ên-)
Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

silver
כֶּ֤סֶף (ke·sep̄)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3701: Silver, money

or gold
וְזָהָב֙ (wə·zā·hāḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2091: Gold, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky

from
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

Saul
שָׁא֣וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

or
וְעִם־ (wə·‘im-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

his house,
בֵּית֔וֹ (bê·ṯōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

nor
וְאֵֽין־ (wə·’ên-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

should you
אִ֖ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

put to death
לְהָמִ֣ית (lə·hā·mîṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

anyone in Israel
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל (bə·yiś·rā·’êl)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

for us.”
לָ֥נוּ (lā·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's Hebrew

“Whatever
מָֽה־ (māh-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

you
אַתֶּ֥ם (’at·tem)
Pronoun - second person masculine plural
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

ask,
וַיֹּ֛אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

I will do for you,”
אֶעֱשֶׂ֥ה (’e·‘ĕ·śeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

he replied.
אֹמְרִ֖ים (’ō·mə·rîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say


Links
2 Samuel 21:4 NIV
2 Samuel 21:4 NLT
2 Samuel 21:4 ESV
2 Samuel 21:4 NASB
2 Samuel 21:4 KJV

2 Samuel 21:4 BibleApps.com
2 Samuel 21:4 Biblia Paralela
2 Samuel 21:4 Chinese Bible
2 Samuel 21:4 French Bible
2 Samuel 21:4 Catholic Bible

OT History: 2 Samuel 21:4 The Gibeonites said to him It (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 21:3
Top of Page
Top of Page