2 Samuel 9

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

9Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may ^ashow him ¹kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

²And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was ^bZiba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

He said, “At your service!”

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

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

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

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

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

⁶Now when ^fMephibosheth ²the 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!”

⁷So 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.”

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

⁹And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, ^h“I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. ¹⁰You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son ⁱshall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had ^jfifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”

“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at ³my table like one of the king’s sons.” ¹²Mephibosheth had a young son ^kwhose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. ¹³So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, ^lfor he ate continually at the king’s table. And he ^mwas lame in both his feet.