2 Samuel 9

David asked, "Is anyone still left from Saul's family? I want to be kind to that person because of Jonathan."

1And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?

NoteSaul was Israel's first king and David's predecessor; Jonathan was Saul's son and David's closest friend, and both died in the same battle with the Philistines. "Kindness" here translates Hebrew *hesed*, which is not spontaneous niceness but loyalty owed within a sworn relationship, David and Jonathan had bound themselves and their descendants by oath. When a new dynasty replaced an old one, surviving members of the old royal house were normally killed as rival claimants, so David's question would have sounded ominous to anyone who heard it.

2Saul's family had a servant named Ziba. He was called to come to David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" He answered, "Yes, I am your servant."

2And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.

Note"Servant" here does not mean a field slave. Ziba managed Saul's household lands and had his own sons and servants under him (verse 10). Also, "your servant" is simply how a person addressed a superior about himself in this culture, roughly the equivalent of a formal "yes, sir", Ziba is saying "I am he."

3The king asked, "Is there really no one left from Saul's family that I can show God's kindness to?" Ziba said to the king, "Jonathan still has a son. He is crippled in both feet."

3And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.

Note"The kindness of God" is a Hebrew way of saying kindness of the highest order (the sort of steadfast loyalty God is said to show) and may also carry the sense of loyalty sworn in God's name. The son's disability is explained earlier in this book: when he was five, news came that Saul and Jonathan had been killed, and his nurse fled with him and dropped him.

4The king asked him, "Where is he?" Ziba answered the king, "He is at the house of Machir son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar."

4And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.

NoteLo-debar was a town east of the Jordan River, in Gilead, well outside the heartland of David's kingdom, and effectively a place of refuge for what remained of Saul's family. Machir son of Ammiel was a man of means in that region; he later supplies David with provisions during Absalom's revolt.

5So King David sent for him and had him brought from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.

5Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

6Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul. When he came to David, he bowed with his face to the ground to show respect. David said, "Mephibosheth." He answered, "I am here, your servant."

6Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!

NoteFalling face-down was the standard gesture of a subject before a king, not an unusual act of devotion. As Saul's grandson, Mephibosheth was a potential claimant to the throne, which is why being summoned to the palace was frightening and why David's first words in the next verse are "don't be afraid."

7David said to him, "Don't be afraid. I am going to be kind to you because of your father Jonathan. I will give you back all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."

7And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

NoteTwo separate grants. The land is Saul's family estate in Benjamin, which had presumably reverted to the crown; David is returning the property. "Eating at my table" means permanent support at royal expense, a place among the king's household dependants, which also meant living where the king could keep an eye on him.

8Mephibosheth bowed low and said, "What am I, your servant, that you would pay attention to a dead dog like me?"

8And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

NoteDogs in this culture were not pets but scavengers that fed on refuse and corpses; "a dead dog" was a stock expression of utter worthlessness, used here as the conventional self-abasing reply to a royal favor.

9Then the king called for Ziba, who had served Saul, and said to him, "I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and to his whole family.

9Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.

NoteThe King James "thy master's son" follows the Hebrew word *ben*, which covers son, grandson, or any male descendant. Mephibosheth was Saul's grandson, not his son.

10You and your sons and your servants must farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so your master's grandson will have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, will always eat at my table." Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

10Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

NoteThe arrangement is a tenancy: Ziba and his household farm the estate and hand over the produce, which supports Mephibosheth's own household, while Mephibosheth himself is fed at the palace. The note about fifteen sons and twenty servants is there to show Ziba commanded a workforce large enough to do it.

11Ziba said to the king, "Your servant will do everything my lord the king has commanded." The king said, "Mephibosheth will eat at my table, like one of the king's own sons."

11Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.

NoteThe Hebrew here reads "he shall eat at *my* table," without saying who is speaking; most take it as David repeating his decision, which is how the rendering reads it, while the ancient Greek version has "at David's table," making it the narrator's summary. "Like one of the king's sons" describes his standing at court, not adoption.

12Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. Everyone who lived in Ziba's house became a servant of Mephibosheth.

12And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.

NoteMica's descendants are listed among the notable families of Benjamin in Chronicles; the name is recorded here because Saul's line continued through him.

13So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table. He was crippled in both feet.

13So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.