2 Samuel 9
New American Standard Bible
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth
9 Then David said, “Is there [a]anyone still left of the house of Saul, (A)so that I could show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they summoned him to David; and the king said to him, “Are you (B)Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 Then the king said, “Is there no one remaining of the house of Saul to whom I could show the (C)kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “(D)There is still a son of Jonathan, one who is disabled in both feet.” 4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is (E)in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent [b]messengers who brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6 (F)Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and (G)fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!” 7 Then David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for (H)I will assuredly show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I (I)will restore to you all the [c]land of your [d]grandfather Saul; and (J)you yourself shall [e]eat at my table regularly.” 8 Again he prostrated himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should be concerned about (K)a dead dog like me?”
9 Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “(L)Everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s [f]grandson. 10 You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master’s grandson will have food [g]to eat; nevertheless (M)Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, (N)shall [h]eat at my table regularly.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then Ziba said to the king, “In accordance (O)with everything that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” So Mephibosheth ate at [i]David’s table as one of the king’s sons. 12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because (P)he ate at the king’s table regularly. And (Q)he was disabled in his two feet.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 9:1 Lit he who is
- 2 Samuel 9:5 Lit and he brought
- 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit field
- 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit father
- 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit eat bread
- 2 Samuel 9:9 Lit son
- 2 Samuel 9:10 Lit and eat it
- 2 Samuel 9:10 Lit eat bread
- 2 Samuel 9:11 Lit my
2 Samuel 9
International Standard Version
David Shows Kindness to Mephibosheth
9 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?”
2 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.
3 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.
4 So David asked, “Where is he?”
Ziba responded, “He’s in Lo-debar at the home of Ammiel’s son Makir.”
5 At this, King David sent for him and brought him from the home of Ammiel’s son Makir in Lo-debar. 6 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.
7 “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!”
8 Mephibosheth[d] bowed low again and asked, “Who am I, your servant, that you would pay attention to a dead dog like me?”
9 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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 9:1 Lit. love for the sake
- 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit. love for the sake
- 2 Samuel 9:7 Lit. always eat
- 2 Samuel 9:8 Lit. He
- 2 Samuel 9:10 Lit. always eat
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
