³ Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show ^(A)the kindness of God?”

And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is ^(B)lame in his feet.”

^4 (A)Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came ^(B)from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was ^(C)Mephibosheth.^[a]

³ For ^(A)we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when ^(B)the kindness and the love of ^(C)God our Savior toward man appeared,

^36 (A)Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

^44 [a]But I say to you, ^(A)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, ^(B)do good to those who hate you, and pray ^(C)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for ^(D)He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

¹⁴ And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; ¹⁵ but ^(A)you shall not ^[a]cut off your kindness from my ^[b]house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the ^[c]house of David, saying, ^(B)“Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”

¹⁷ Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; ^(C)for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

²⁶ And he answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go to the king,’ because your servant is lame.

¹⁵ The Lord delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their ^[a]descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.

³⁷ And because ^(A)He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their ^[a]descendants after them; and ^(B)He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power,