³ The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”^(A)

⁴ Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, and in her haste to flee it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.^(A)

³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.^{(A) 4} But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,^(B)

³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

⁴⁴ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,^{(A) 45} so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.^(B)

¹⁴ If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord, but if I die,^{[a] 15} never cut off your faithful love from my house, even if the Lord were to cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”^{(A) 16} Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord seek out the enemies of David.” ¹⁷ Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own life.^(B)

²⁶ He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, for your servant said to him, ‘Saddle a donkey for me^[a] so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ For your servant is lame.^(A)

¹⁵ yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today.^(A)

³⁷ And because he loved your ancestors, he chose their descendants after them. He brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power,^(A)