So David decided to give the Gibeonites Saul’s sons Armoni and Mephibosheth to kill, as well as five of his grandchildren. The five grandchildren were all from the same family and were the sons of proud parents Merab and Adriel. David sent his soldiers over to Adriel and Merab’s place, in the town called Meholah, to get their boys. When they stormed in, Merab got a terrible fright.

They grabbed two of the boys from one room and looked around for the others. The boys were very frightened and confused. They kept asking the soldiers what they’d done wrong.

“What crime have I committed?” one of the boys demanded, trying to mask his quivering voice.

When poor Merab saw two of her boys being hauled away and saw the soldiers looking around for the other boys, she rushed into the room where the younger boys were and, in a terrified voice, yelled at them to run for their lives.

But it was too late. The soldiers had spotted them. Merab tried to stop them but the big soldiers knocked her to the floor as if they were swatting a fly. The boys ran but they didn’t get far. Soon, all five were rounded up. 

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