7 And David saith to him, `Be not afraid; for I certainly do with thee kindness because of Jonathan thy father, and have given back to thee all the field of Saul thy father, and thou dost eat bread at my table continually.'
`And to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite thou dost do kindness, and they have been among those eating at thy table, for so they drew near unto me in my fleeing from the face of Absalom thy brother.
for all the house of my father have been nothing except men of death before my lord the king, and thou dost set thy servant among those eating at thy table, and what right have I any more -- even to cry any more unto the king?'
And the king saith, `Is there not yet a man to the house of Saul, and I do with him the kindness of God?' And Ziba saith unto the king, `Jonathan hath yet a son -- lame.'
and hath changed the garments of his restraint, and he hath eaten bread continually before him all days of his life,
lo, I have stood at the door, and I knock; if any one may hear my voice, and may open the door, I will come in unto him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
may the Lord give kindness to the house of Onesiphorus, because many times he did refresh me, and of my chain was not ashamed, but being in Rome, very diligently he sought me, and found; may the Lord give to him to find kindness from the Lord in that day; and how many things in Ephesus he did minister thou dost very well know.
and she, having seen, was troubled at his word, and was reasoning of what kind this salutation may be. And the messenger said to her, `Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God;
and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him; and the messenger said unto him, `Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John,
and the men are afraid because they have been brought into the house of Joseph, and they say, `For the matter of the money which was put back in our bags at the commencement are we brought in -- to roll himself upon us, and to throw himself on us, and to take us for servants -- our asses also.'
And the pierced of Jehovah have been in that day, From the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth, They are not lamented, nor gathered, nor buried, For dung on the face of the ground they are. Howl, ye shepherds, and cry, And roll yourselves, ye honourable of the flock, For full have been your days, For slaughtering, and `for' your scatterings, And ye have fallen as a desirable vessel.
Even mine ally, in whom I trusted, One eating my bread, made great the heel against me,
and the king saith unto Barzillai, `Pass thou over with me, and I have sustained thee with me in Jerusalem.'
And Ziba saith unto the king, `According to all that my lord the king commandeth his servant, so doth thy servant;' as to Mephibosheth, `he is eating at my table (`saith the king') as one of the sons of the king.'
only, fear ye Jehovah, and ye have served Him in truth with all your heart, for see that which He hath made great with you;
and all the people say unto Samuel, `Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, and we do not die, for we have added to all our sins evil to ask for us a king.' And Samuel saith unto the people, `Fear not; ye have done all this evil; only, turn not aside from after Jehovah -- and ye have served Jehovah with all your heart,
And Boaz answereth and saith to her, `It hath thoroughly been declared to me all that thou hast done with thy mother-in-law, after the death of thy husband, and thou dost leave thy father, and thy mother, and the land of thy birth, and dost come in unto a people which thou hast not known heretofore. Jehovah doth recompense thy work, and thy reward is complete from Jehovah, God of Israel, under whose wings thou hast come to take refuge.'
And his brethren also go and fall before him, and say, `Lo, we `are' to thee for servants.' And Joseph saith unto them, `Fear not, for `am' I in the place of God? As for you, ye devised against me evil -- God devised it for good, in order to do as `at' this day, to keep alive a numerous people; and now, fear not: I do nourish you and your infants;' and he comforteth them, and speaketh unto their heart.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Samuel 9
Commentary on 2 Samuel 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 9
2Sa 9:1-12. David Sends for Mephibosheth.
1-7. David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul—On inquiry, Saul's land steward was found, who gave information that there still survived Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan who was five years old at his father's death, and whom David, then wandering in exile, had never seen. His lameness (2Sa 4:4) had prevented him from taking any part in the public contests of the time. Besides, according to Oriental notions, the younger son of a crowned monarch has a preferable claim to the succession over the son of a mere heir-apparent; and hence his name was never heard of as the rival of his uncle Ish-bosheth. His insignificance had led to his being lost sight of, and it was only through Ziba that David learned of his existence, and the retired life he passed with one of the great families in trans-jordanic Canaan who remained attached to the fallen dynasty. Mephibosheth was invited to court, and a place at the royal table on public days was assigned him, as is still the custom with Eastern monarchs. Saul's family estate, which had fallen to David in right of his wife (Nu 27:8), or been forfeited to the crown by Ish-bosheth's rebellion (2Sa 12:8), was provided (2Sa 9:11; also 2Sa 19:28), for enabling Mephibosheth to maintain an establishment suitable to his rank, and Ziba appointed steward to manage it, on the condition of receiving one-half of the produce in remuneration for his labor and expense, while the other moiety was to be paid as rent to the owner of the land (2Sa 19:29).
10. Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants—The mention of his sons and the slaves in his house was to show that Mephibosheth would be honored with an equipage "as one of the king's sons."
12. Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micah—Whether born before or after his residence in Jerusalem, cannot be ascertained. But through him the name and memory of the excellent Jonathan was preserved (see 1Ch 8:34, 35; 9:40, 41).