10 Thou 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.
11 Then 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.
10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, H1121 and thy servants, H5650 shall till H5647 the land H127 for him, and thou shalt bring H935 in the fruits, that thy master's H113 son H1121 may have food H3899 to eat: H398 but Mephibosheth H4648 thy master's H113 son H1121 shall eat H398 bread H3899 alway H8548 at my table. H7979 Now Ziba H6717 had fifteen H2568 H6240 sons H1121 and twenty H6242 servants. H5650
11 Then said H559 Ziba H6717 unto the king, H4428 According to all that my lord H113 the king H4428 hath commanded H6680 his servant, H5650 so shall thy servant H5650 do. H6213 As for Mephibosheth, H4648 said the king, he shall eat H398 at my table, H7979 as one H259 of the king's H4428 sons. H1121
10 And thou shalt till the land for him, thou, and thy sons, and thy servants; and thou shalt bring in `the fruits', that thy master's son may have bread to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king commandeth 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.
10 and thou hast served for him the land, thou and thy sons, and thy servants, and hast brought in, and there hath been to the son of thy lord bread, and he hath eaten it; and Mephibosheth son of thy lord doth eat continually bread at my table;' and Ziba hath fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 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.'
10 And thou, 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. And Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread at my table continually. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will thy servant do. And Mephibosheth [said David] shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.
10 You shall till the land for him, you, and your sons, and your servants; and you shall bring in [the fruits], that your master's son may have bread to eat: but Mephibosheth your master's son shall eat bread always at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then said Ziba to the king, According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so shall your servant do. As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.
10 And you and your sons and your servants are to take care of the land for him, and get in the fruit of it, so that your master's son may have food: but Mephibosheth, your master's son, will have a place at my table at all times. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then Ziba said to the king, Every order which you have given to your servant will be done. As for Mephibosheth, he had a place at David's table, like one of the king's sons.
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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).