1 Ishbosheth felt like giving up after he heard that Abner had died in Hebron. Everyone in Israel was terrified.
2 Ishbosheth had put the two brothers Baanah and Rechab in charge of the soldiers who raided enemy villages. Rimmon was their father, and they were from the town of Beeroth, which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.
3 The people who used to live in Beeroth had run away to Gittaim, and they still live there.
4 Saul's son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth, who had not been able to walk since he was five years old. It happened when someone from Jezreel told his nurse that Saul and Jonathan had died. She hurried off with the boy in her arms, but he fell and injured his legs.
5 One day about midday, Rechab and Baanah went to Ishbosheth's house. It was a hot day, and he was resting