2 Samuel 21 · Verse 10

2 Samuel 21:10

And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
2 Samuel 21:10, King James Version

2 Samuel 21:10 in other translations

BSBAnd Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain from heaven poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
WEBRizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water poured on them from the sky. She allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day, nor the animals of the field by night.
ASVAnd Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water was poured upon them from heaven; and she suffered neither the birds of the heavens to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
YLTAnd Rizpah daughter of Aiah taketh the sackcloth, and stretcheth it out for herself on the rock, from the commencement of harvest till water hath been poured out upon them from the heavens, and hath not suffered a fowl of the heavens to rest upon them by day, or the beast of the field by night.
DARBYThen Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water poured on them out of the heavens, and suffered neither the fowl of the heavens to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.
BBEAnd Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took haircloth, placing it on the rock as a bed for herself, from the start of the grain-cutting till rain came down on them from heaven; and she did not let the birds of the air come near them by day, or the beasts of the field by night.
WebsterAnd Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

What does 2 Samuel 21:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
10. Rizpah ... took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock--She erected a tent near the spot, in which she and her servants kept watch, as the relatives of executed persons were wont to do, day and night, to scare the birds and beasts of prey away from the remains exposed on the low-standing gibbets. 2Sa 21:12-22. David Buries the Bones of Saul and Jonathan in Their Father's Sepulcher.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 Rizpah - took sackcloth - Who can read the account of Rizpah's maternal affection for her sons that were now hanged, without feeling his mind deeply impressed with sorrows? Did God require this sacrifice of Saul's sons, probably all innocent of the alleged crime of their father? Was there no other method of averting the Divine displeasure? Was the requisition of the Gibeonites to have Saul's sons sacrificed to God, to be considered as an oracle of God? Certainly not; God will not have man's blood for sacrifice, no more than he will have swine's blood. The famine might have been removed, and the land properly purged, by offering the sacrifices prescribed by the law, and by a general humiliation of the people. Until water dropped upon them - Until the time of the autumnal rains, which in that country commence about October. Is it possible that this poor broken-hearted woman could have endured the fatigue, (and probably in the open air), of watching these bodies for more than five months? Some think that the rain dropping on them out of heaven means the removal of the famine which was occasioned by drought, by now sending rain, which might have been shortly after these men were hanged; but this by no means agrees with the manner in which the account is introduced: "They were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. And Rizpah - took sackcloth, and spread it for her on the rock, from the beginning of harvest, until water dropped upon them out of heaven." No casual or immediately providential rain can be here intended; the reference must be to the periodical rains above mentioned.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 21:10-14
That a guilty land should enjoy many years of plenty, calls for gratitude; and we need not wonder misused abundance should be punished with scarcity; yet how few are disposed to ask of the Lord concerning the sinful cause, while numbers search for the second causes by which he is pleased to work! But the Lord will plead the cause of those who cannot or will not avenge themselves; and the prayers of the poor are of great power. When God sent rain to water the earth, these bodies were buried, for then it appeared that God was entreated for the land. When justice is done on earth, vengeance from heaven ceases. God is pacified, and is entreated for us through Christ, who was hanged on a tree, and so made a curse for us, to do away our guilt, though he was himself guiltless.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

2 Samuel 21:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתִּקַּ֣חva.ti.Kachand she tookH3947
רִצְפָּה֩ritz.PahRizpahH7532
בַת\־vat-[the] daughter ofH1323
אַיָּ֨ה'ai.YahAiahH345
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַשַּׂ֜קha.Sak<the> sackclothH8242
וַתַּטֵּ֨הוּva.ta.Te.huand she spread out itH5186
לָ֤הּlahfor <the> herself
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַצּוּר֙ha.Tzurthe rockH6697
מִתְּחִלַּ֣תmi.te.chi.Latfrom [the] beginning ofH8462
קָצִ֔ירka.TzirharvestH7105
עַ֛ד'aduntilH5704
נִתַּךְ\־ni.takh-it was poured outH5413
מַ֥יִםMa.yimwaterH4325
עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם'a.lei.Hemon themH5921
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
וְלֹֽא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
נָתְנָה֩na.te.Nahshe permittedH5414
ע֨וֹףof[the] bird[s] ofH5775
הַשָּׁמַ֜יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
לָנ֤וּחַla.Nu.achto restH5117
עֲלֵיהֶם֙'a.lei.Hemon themH5921
יוֹמָ֔םyo.Mamby dayH3119
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
חַיַּ֥תchai.Yat[the] animal[s] ofH2416
הַשָּׂדֶ֖הha.sa.Dehthe fieldH7704
לָֽיְלָה\׃La.ye.lahnightH3915

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Samuel 21:10

  • Deuteronomy 21:23

    His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

  • 2 Samuel 3:7

    And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish–bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father’s concubine?

  • 1 Kings 18:41-45

    And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. …

  • Joel 2:23

    Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

  • 1 Kings 21:27

    And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

  • Zechariah 10:1

    Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

  • Jeremiah 14:22

    Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

  • Hosea 6:3

    Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

  • Deuteronomy 11:14

    That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

  • Deuteronomy 21:13

    And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

  • Joel 1:18

    How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

  • Ezekiel 39:4

    Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rizpah.
8; 3:7
took sackcloth.
1Ki 21:27; Joe 1:18
from the.
9; De 21:13
until water.Some suppose that this means a providential supply of rain, in order to remove the famine; but from the manner in which it is introduced, it seems to denote the autumnal rains, which commence about October. For five months did this broken-hearted woman watch by the bodies of her sons!
De 11:14; 1Ki 18:41-45; Jer 5:24,25; 14:22; Ho 6:3; Joe 2:23
Zec 10:1
the birds.
Ge 40:19; Eze 39:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Samuel 21:9

    And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

  • 2 Samuel 21:10

    And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

  • 2 Samuel 21:11

    And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

Read all of 2 Samuel 21

2 Samuel 21:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Tomando luego Rispa hija de Aja un saco, tendióselo sobre un peñasco, desde el principio de la siega hasta que llovió sobre ellos agua del cielo; y no dejó á ninguna ave del cielo asentarse sobre ellos de día, ni bestias del campo de noche.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Ritspa, fille d’Aïa, prit un sac et l’étendit sur le rocher, depuis le commencement de la moisson jusqu’à ce qu’il tombe de l’eau des cieux sur eux; et elle ne permit pas aux oiseaux des cieux de se poser sur eux le jour, ni aux bêtes des champs la nuit.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da nahm Rizpa, die Tochter Ajas, Sacktuch, und breitete es sich aus auf dem Felsen, vom Anfang der Ernte an, bis das Wasser vom Himmel über sie troff; und sie ließ das Gevögel des Himmels nicht auf ihnen ruhen bei Tage, noch das Getier des Feldes bei Nacht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Tollens autem Respha filia Aja cilicium, substravit sibi supra petram ab initio messis, donec stillaret aqua super eos de cælo: et non dimisit aves lacerare eos per diem, neque bestias per noctem.