10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock , from the beginning of harvest until it rained on them from the sky ; and she allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night . 11 When it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah , the concubine of Saul , had done , 12 then David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead e , who had stolen them from the open square of Beth-shan , where e the Philistines had hanged them on the day the Philistines struck down Saul in Gilboa . 13 He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there , and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged . 14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela , in the grave of Kish his father ; thus they did all that the king commanded , and after that God was moved by prayer for the land .

Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Samuel 21:10-14

Commentary on 2 Samuel 21:10-14

(Read 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.