David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

Then David said, “Is there [a]anyone still left of the house of Saul, (A)so that I could show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they summoned him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you (B)Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” Then the king said, “Is there no one remaining of the house of Saul to whom I could show the (C)kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “(D)There is still a son of Jonathan, one who is disabled in both feet.” So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is (E)in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.” Then King David sent [b]messengers who brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. (F)Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and (G)fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” Then David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for (H)I will assuredly show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I (I)will restore to you all the [c]land of your [d]grandfather Saul; and (J)you yourself shall [e]eat at my table regularly.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 9:1 Lit he who is
  2. 2 Samuel 9:5 Lit and he brought
  3. 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit field
  4. 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit father
  5. 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit eat bread

David and Mephibosheth

David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”(A)

Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba.(B) They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan;(C) he is lame(D) in both feet.”

“Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir(E) son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.(F)

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.(G) I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.(H)

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