David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

¹And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” ² There was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, so they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “I am your servant.” ³ And the king said, “Is there no longer anyone left of the house (family) of Saul to whom I may show the goodness and graciousness of God?” Ziba replied to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan, [one] whose feet are crippled.” ⁴ So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba replied to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.” ⁵ Then King David sent word and had him brought 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 face down and lay himself down [in respect]. David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” ⁷ David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will certainly show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall always eat at my table.” ⁸ Again Mephibosheth lay himself face down and said, “What is your servant, that you would be concerned for a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and to all his house (family). 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 may have food to eat; but Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do according to everything that my lord the king commands.” So Mephibosheth ate at 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 Ziba’s house were servants to Mephibosheth. ¹³ So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. And he was lame in both feet.