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David's Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may ^(A)show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” ² Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was ^(B)Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” ³ And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show ^(C)the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of ^(D)Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” ⁴ The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of ^(E)Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. ⁶ And ^(F)Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” ⁷ And David said to him, “Do not fear, ^(G)for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and ^(H)you shall eat at my table always.” ⁸ And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for ^(I)a dead dog such as I?”

⁹ Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. ¹⁰ And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson ^(J)shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had ^(K)fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ^(L)ate at David's^[a] table, like one of the king's sons. ¹² And Mephibosheth had a young son, ^(M)whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for ^(N)he ate always at the king's table. Now ^(O)he was lame in both his feet.

Lights in the World

¹² Therefore, my beloved, ^(A)as you have always ^(B)obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for ^(C)it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for ^(D)his good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things ^(E)without grumbling or ^(F)disputing, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, ^(G)children of God ^(H)without blemish ^(I)in the midst of ^(J)a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine ^(K)as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast to ^(L)the word of life, so that in ^(M)the day of Christ ^(N)I may be proud that ^(O)I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ Even if I am to be ^(P)poured out as a drink offering upon ^(Q)the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus ^(R)to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. ²⁰ For I have no one ^(S)like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all ^(T)seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²² But you know Timothy's^{[a] (U)}proven worth, how ^(V)as a son^[b] with a father ^(W)he has served with me in the gospel. ²³ I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, ²⁴ and ^(X)I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

²⁵ I have thought it necessary to send to you ^(Y)Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and ^(Z)fellow soldier, and your messenger and ^(AA)minister to my need, ²⁶ for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. ²⁷ Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. ²⁹ So ^(AB)receive him in the Lord with all joy, and ^(AC)honor such men, ³⁰ for he nearly died^{[c] (AD)}for the work of Christ, risking his life ^(AE)to complete what was lacking in your service to me.