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Ziba Brings Provisions

16 Now David passed a little from beyond the summit, and suddenly Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him with a pair of saddled donkeys; on them were two hundred loaves of bread and a hundred raisin cakes, with a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine. The king said to Ziba, “What do you want to accomplish by bringing these?”[a] And Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on; the bread and the summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for the faint in the wilderness to drink. Then the king said, “Where is the son of your lord?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is living in Jerusalem for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel shall return the kingdom of my father to me.’” The king said to Ziba, “Look, all that was Mephibosheth’s is yours.” Ziba said, “I hereby do obeisance; may I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 16:2 Literally “What are these to you?”

David Receives Gifts from Ziba

16 When David had gone a short way beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a couple of donkeys that were saddled, and on them were 200 loaves of bread, 100 raisin cakes, 100 baskets of summer fruit,[a] and a container of wine.

The king asked Ziba, “Why did you bring these things?”[b] Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the loaves of bread[c] and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert.”[d] The king asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?”[e] Ziba replied to the king, “He remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give back to me my grandfather’s[f] kingdom.’” The king said to Ziba, “Everything that was Mephibosheth’s now belongs to you.” Ziba replied, “I bow before you. May I find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 16:1 tn Heb “a hundred summer fruit.”
  2. 2 Samuel 16:2 tn Heb “What are these to you?”
  3. 2 Samuel 16:2 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְהַלֶּחֶם (vehallekhem, “and the bread”) rather than וּלְהַלֶּחֶם (ulehallekhem, “and to the bread”) of the Kethib. The syntax of the MT is confused here by the needless repetition of the preposition, probably taken from the preceding word.
  4. 2 Samuel 16:2 tn The Hebrew text adds “to drink.”
  5. 2 Samuel 16:3 tn Heb “son.”
  6. 2 Samuel 16:3 tn Heb “my father’s.”