2 Samuel 21 recounts a time of famine in the land of Israel during the reign of King David. The famine lasted for three years, and David sought the Lord's guidance regarding its cause. God revealed that the famine was a result of the previous actions of King Saul against the Gibeonites.
The Gibeonites were a group of people with whom Israel had made a covenant during the time of Joshua. However, Saul, in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah, had tried to annihilate the Gibeonites. As a consequence, God had brought the famine upon the land.
In order to make amends, David approached the Gibeonites and asked them what could be done to reconcile the situation. The Gibeonites requested that seven of Saul's descendants be handed over to them for execution. David agreed, sparing Jonathan's son Mephibosheth due to the covenant he had made with Jonathan.
The Gibeonites carried out their request, and seven men from Saul's family were put to death. Their bodies were then buried by their mother, Rizpah, who kept vigil over them to protect them from wild animals and birds.
David was deeply moved by Rizpah's devotion, and he ordered the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan to be collected and buried alongside the bodies of the executed men. After this, God heeded the prayers of the land, and the famine was lifted.