¹² My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple,^(A) or stirring up a crowd^(B) in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³ And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.^(C)

David and Ziba

16 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba,^(A) the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.^(B)

² The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?”

Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh^(C) those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

³ The king then asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?”^(D)

Ziba^(E) said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, ‘Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather’s kingdom.’”

⁵ “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots^(A) among the Jews^(B) all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene^(C) sect^{(D) 6} and even tried to desecrate the temple;^(E) so we seized him.

²⁴ Mephibosheth,^(A) Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. ²⁵ When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me,^(B) Mephibosheth?”

²⁶ He said, “My lord the king, since I your servant am lame,^(C) I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the king.’ But Ziba^(D) my servant betrayed me. ²⁷ And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like an angel^(E) of God; so do whatever you wish.