Halakhah do Samuela II 21:6

King David was now apprised of the transgression for which his people were punished. He sought to make amends and called the Gibeonites and asked of them, "What shall I do for you and wherewith shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?" (II Samuel 21:2). The Gibeonites declined to accept gold or silver in expiation for Saul's transgression or as compensation for the harm and grief that they had suffered. But Saul was no longer alive and could not be punished. Instead they demanded, "… let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord" (II Samuel 21:6). David's response was immediate and forthright: "and the king said, 'I will deliver them' " (II Samuel 21:6). Scripture then proceeds to describe how David caused the grandchildren of Saul to pass before the urim ve-tumim and how he delivered to the Gibeonites the seven individuals selected by the urim ve-tumim. Assuredly, King David would not have acceded to the demands of the Gibeonites had there not been a clear indication of divine approval. Nevertheless, the Gemara questions the inherent propriety of such a course of action. "Fathers shall not be put to death for children, neither shall children be put to death for fathers" (Deuteronomy 24:16). The Gemara answers, "Rabbi Hiya the son of Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan, 'Better that a letter be eradicated from the Torah than that the Divine Name be publicly profaned.' " Rashi, commenting upon the nature of the ḥillul ha-Shem (profanation of the Divine Name) which David sought to avert, explains that failure to exact punishment for the death of the Gibeonites would, in and of itself, constitute profanation of the Divine Name in the eyes of the world. Gentile nations would conclude that the Jewish people had acted unjustly in allowing strangers to be deprived of their livelihood without in any way avenging the evildoers.