2 Samuel 9:3–8

3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

3 And 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. 4 And 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 Lo-debar. 5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6 Now 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! 7 And 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. 8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

3 The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.”

Ziba replied, “Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

“In Lo-debar,” Ziba told him, “at the home of Makir son of Ammiel.”

5 So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home. 6 His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, “Greetings, Mephibosheth.”

Mephibosheth replied, “I am your servant.”

7 “Don’t be afraid!” David said. “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!”

8 Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”

3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?”

And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”

4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?”

And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”

5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.

6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”

And he answered, “Here is your servant!”

7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”

3 The king asked, “Is anyone left in Saul’s family? I want to show God’s kindness to that person.”

Ziba answered the king, “Jonathan has a son still living who is crippled in both feet.”

4 The king asked Ziba, “Where is this son?”

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

5 Then King David had servants bring Jonathan’s son from the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar. 6 Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, came before David and bowed facedown on the floor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

Mephibosheth said, “I am your servant.”

7 David said to him, “Don’t be afraid. I will be kind to you for your father Jonathan’s sake. I will give you back all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed to David again and said, “You are being very kind to me, your servant! And I am no better than a dead dog!”

3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, who is lame of his feet. 4 And 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 Lo-debar. 5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came unto David, and fell on his face, and did obeisance. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold, thy servant! 7 And David said unto him, Fear not; for I will surely show 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. 8 And he did obeisance, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame on his feet. 4 And the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. 5 And king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. 6 And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he said, Behold thy servant! 7 And David said to him, Fear not; for I will certainly 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. 8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

3 David asked, “Is there someone left in Saul’s family to whom I can show God’s kindness?” 

“Jonathan has a son who is disabled,” Ziba answered. 

4 “Where is he?” the king asked. 

Ziba replied, “He is at the home of Machir, Ammiel’s son, in Lo Debar.” 

5 So King David sent men to get him from the home of Ammiel’s son Machir in Lo Debar. 6 When Mephibosheth (son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul) came to David, he quickly bowed down with his face touching the ground. 

“Mephibosheth!” David said to him. 

“Yes, sir,” he answered. 

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David told him, “I will certainly show you kindness for your father Jonathan’s sake. I will give back to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” 

8 Mephibosheth bowed down ⸤again⸥ and answered, “Who am I that you would look at a dead dog like me?” 

3 So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family that I can show the kindness of God to?”

Ziba said to the king, “There is still Jonathan’s son who was injured in both feet.”

4 The king asked him, “Where is he?”

Ziba answered the king, “You’ll find him in Lo-debar at the house of Machir son of Ammiel.” 5 So King David had him brought from the house of Machir son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.

6 Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, bowed down to the ground and paid homage. David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“I am your servant,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “since I intend to show you kindness because of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all your grandfather Saul’s fields, and you will always eat meals at my table.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant that you take an interest in a dead dog like me?”

3 The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” 7 David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.” 8 He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”

3 Then the king said, “But is there still anyone of Saul’s household that I may show the loyal love of God with him?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in the feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is here in the house of Makir the son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.” 5 So King David sent and brought him from the house of Makir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar. 6 So Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David. And he fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth,” and he said, “I am ready to serve you.” 7 Then David said to him, “Don’t be afraid, for I will certainly show loyal love to you for the sake of Jonathan your father, and I will restore to you all the lands of Saul your father. And you shall always eat food at my table.” 8 Then he did obeisance and said, “What is your servant that you have paid attention to the dead dog like me?”

3 The king asked, “Isn’t anyone left from the royal house of Saul? God has been very kind to me. I would like to be kind to someone in the same way.”

Ziba answered the king, “A son of Jonathan is still living. Both of his feet were hurt.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He’s in the town of Lo Debar. He’s staying at the house of Makir, the son of Ammiel.”

5 So King David had Mephibosheth brought from Makir’s house in Lo Debar.

6 Mephibosheth came to David. He was the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul. Mephibosheth bowed down to David to show him respect.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“I’m ready to serve you,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David told him. “You can be sure that I will be kind to you because of your father Jonathan. I’ll give back to you all of the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul. And I’ll always provide what you need.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed down to David. He said, “Who am I? Why should you pay attention to me? I’m nothing but a dead dog.”

3 The king said, “Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet.”

4 So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar.”

5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar.

6 Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he said, “Here is your servant!”

7 David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.”

8 Again he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?”