2 Samuel 4:8

Which sought thy life. These captains had probably played an active part with the army of Saul in seeking David’s life, and they may have felt that there was within his heart a similar spirit of enmity and hatred toward Saul and his house as there had been on the part of Saul toward David. Hate usually begets hate, and bitterness on the part of one is often met by bitterness on the part of another.

The Lord hath avenged. The honor of God and the vindication of the divine cause was not the motive that prompted these assassins. They slew Ish-bosheth because they sought their own interests, not the good of David, and their words were calculated to awaken in him a spirit of gratitude toward themselves, that they might receive a handsome reward. The men were guilty of a crime that merited punishment, not reward.