David's Kindness to Mephibosheth

And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may (A)show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” 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.” 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.” 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.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 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.” 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.” And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for (I)a dead dog such as I?”

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.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 9:11 Septuagint; Hebrew my

David Shows Kindness to Mephibosheth

Later on, David asked, “Is there anyone left alive from Saul’s household to whom I can show gracious love in memory[a] of Jonathan?”

A household servant of Saul named Ziba was called to appear before David, and the king asked him, “Are you Ziba?”

“I am your servant,” Ziba replied.

At this the king asked, “Isn’t there still someone left from Saul’s household to whom I may show God’s gracious love?”

“There’s Jonathan’s son. He has maimed feet,” Ziba answered.

So David asked, “Where is he?”

Ziba responded, “He’s in Lo-debar at the home of Ammiel’s son Makir.”

At this, King David sent for him and brought him from the home of Ammiel’s son Makir in Lo-debar. When Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and a grandson of Saul, approached David, he threw himself on his face out of respect.

“Mephibosheth!” David said as he greeted him.

“Hello! I am your servant,” he replied.

“Don’t be afraid,” David reassured him, “because I’m going to show gracious love to you in memory[b] of your father Jonathan. I’m going to restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you’ll always have a place[c] at my table!”

Mephibosheth[d] bowed low again and asked, “Who am I, your servant, that you would pay attention to a dead dog like me?”

At this, the king called for Saul’s servant Ziba and told him, “I’m restoring to your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your servants are to farm the land on his behalf and bring in the crops in order to provide for your master’s grandson. Meanwhile, Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will always have a place[e] at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and 20 servants.)

11 Later, Ziba told the king, “Your servant will do everything that your majesty the king commands him.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth fathered a son named Mica, and everyone who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 Mephibosheth continued to live in Jerusalem, always eating at the king’s table, since he was maimed in both feet.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 9:1 Lit. love for the sake
  2. 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit. love for the sake
  3. 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit. always eat
  4. 2 Samuel 9:8 Lit. He
  5. 2 Samuel 9:10 Lit. always eat