³¹ And David said to Joab and to all the people with him, Rend your clothes, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And King David followed the bier.

³² They buried Abner in Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

³³ And the king lamented over Abner and said, Should Abner die as a fool dies?

³⁴ Your hands were not bound or your feet put into fetters; as a man falls before wicked men, so you fell. And all the people wept again over him.

³⁵ All the people came to urge David to eat food while it was yet day; but David took an oath, saying, May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else, till the sun is down.

³⁶ And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as whatever the king did pleased all the people.

³⁷ For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not the king’s will to slay Abner son of Ner.

³⁸ King David said to his servants, Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?

³⁹ And I am this day weak, though anointed [but not crowned] king; these sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!

9 And David said, Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?

² And of the house of Saul there was a servant whose name was Ziba. When they had called him to David, he said to him, Are you Ziba? He said, I, your servant, am he.

³ The king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the [unfailing, unsought, unlimited] mercy and kindness of God? Ziba replied, Jonathan has yet a son who is lame in his feet.^(A)

⁴ And the king said, Where is he? Ziba replied, He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.

⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel at Lo-debar.

⁶ And Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, Mephibosheth! And he answered, Behold your servant!

⁷ David said to him, Fear not, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your father [grandfather], and you shall eat at my table always.

⁸ And [the cripple] bowed himself and said, What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am?

⁹ Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, I have given your master’s son [grandson] all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.

¹⁰ And you shall till the land for him, you, your sons, and your servants, and you shall bring in the produce, that your master’s heir may have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, your master’s son [grandson], shall eat always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, Your servant will do according to all my lord the king commands. So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.

¹² Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in Ziba’s house were servants to Mephibosheth.

¹³ So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table, [even though] he was lame in both feet.

2 Therefore you have no excuse or defense or justification, O man, whoever you are who judges and condemns another. For in posing as judge and passing sentence on another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge are habitually practicing the very same things [that you censure and denounce].

² [But] we know that the judgment (adverse verdict, sentence) of God falls justly and in accordance with truth upon those who practice such things.

³ And do you think or imagine, O man, when you judge and condemn those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment and elude His sentence and adverse verdict?

⁴ Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repent (^[a]to change your mind and inner man to accept God’s will)?

⁵ But by your callous stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up wrath and indignation for yourself on the day of wrath and indignation, when God’s righteous judgment (just doom) will be revealed.

⁶ For He will render to every man according to his works [justly, as his deeds deserve]:^(A)

⁷ To those who by patient persistence in well-doing [^[b]springing from piety] seek [unseen but sure] glory and honor and [^[c]the eternal blessedness of] immortality, He will give eternal life.

⁸ But for those who are self-seeking and self-willed and disobedient to the Truth but responsive to wickedness, there will be indignation and wrath.

¹¹ For God shows no partiality [^[a]undue favor or unfairness; with Him one man is not different from another].^(A)