✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

2 Samuel 9

ARC · Chapter 9/24

1E disse David: Ha ainda alguem que ficasse da casa de Saul, para que lhe faça beneficencia por amor de Jonathan?

2E havia um servo na casa de Saul cujo nome era Ziba: e o chamaram que viesse a David, e disse-lhe o rei: És tu Ziba? E elle disse: Servo teu.

3E disse o rei: Não ha ainda algum da casa de Saul para que use com elle de beneficencia de Deus? Então disse Ziba ao rei: Ainda ha um filho de Jonathan, aleijado de ambos os pés.

4E disse-lhe o rei: Onde está? E disse Ziba ao rei: Eis que está em casa de Machir, filho d'Ammiel, em Lo-debar.

5Então mandou o rei David, e o tomou da casa de Machir, filho d'Ammiel. de Lo-debar.

6E entrando Mephiboseth, filho de Jonathan, o filho de Saul, a David, se prostrou com o rosto por terra e se inclinou; e disse David: Mephiboseth! E elle disse: Eis aqui teu servo.

7E disse-lhe David: Não temas, porque decerto usarei comtigo de beneficencia por amor de Jonathan, teu pae, e te restituirei todas as terras de Saul, teu pae, e tu de continuo comerás pão á minha mesa.

8Então se inclinou, e disse: Quem é teu servo, para tu teres olhado para um cão morto tal como eu

9Então chamou David a Ziba, moço de Saul, e disse-lhe: Tudo o que pertencia a Saul, e de toda a sua casa, tenho dado ao filho de teu senhor.

10Trabalhar-lhe-heis pois a terra, tu e teus filhos, e teus servos, e recolherás os fructos, para que o filho de teu senhor tenha pão que coma, e Mephiboseth, filho de teu senhor, de continuo comerá pão á minha mesa. E tinha Ziba quinze filhos e vinte servos.

11E disse Ziba ao rei: Conforme a tudo quanto meu senhor, o rei, manda a seu servo, assim fará teu servo; porém Mephiboseth comerá á minha mesa como um dos filhos do rei

12E tinha Mephiboseth um filho pequeno, cujo nome era Mica: e todos quantos moravam em casa de Ziba eram servos de Mephiboseth.

13Morava pois Mephiboseth em Jerusalem, porquanto de continuo comia á mesa do rei, e era côxo de ambos os pés.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David seeks out a descendant of Saul to fulfill his promise of loyalty to Jonathan, and finds Mephibosheth, Jonathan's crippled son. David restores Saul's lands to him and invites him to eat at his table always, as one of the king's own sons.

Explanation

This episode illustrates the Hebrew concept of 'hesed' — loyal kindness that goes beyond obligation. David, now a powerful king, could easily have eliminated any possible rival from Saul's line (a common practice among other ancient monarchies), but instead fulfills an old promise made to a friend who is now dead. It is a beautiful picture of grace: Mephibosheth, who describes himself as 'a dead dog,' is raised to the royal table without having done anything to deserve it, simply because of David's love for Jonathan — an image many see as a foreshadowing of God's grace toward us.

Fun facts

  • The name Mephibosheth probably means 'one who scatters shame,' or was originally 'Merib-baal,' altered by the scribes to remove the word 'Baal' (the name of a Canaanite god) from proper names, a common practice in the Hebrew text.
  • Lo-debar, where Mephibosheth lived in hiding, literally means 'no pasture' or 'place of nothing,' symbolizing his condition of exile and poverty before being brought to the king's table.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Samuel 9:1Now reigning in peace, David asks whether anyone is still left of the house of Saul to whom he might show kindness for Jonathan’s sake.
  2. 2 Samuel 9:2Ziba, a former servant of Saul’s household, is summoned, and David asks whether he can help find any living descendant of Saul.
  3. 2 Samuel 9:3David insists on showing kindness to someone from Saul’s house, and Ziba recalls that a son of Jonathan is still alive, lame in both feet.
  4. 2 Samuel 9:4David asks where this son is, and Ziba answers that he lives in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.
  5. 2 Samuel 9:5David sends and has Mephibosheth brought straight from Machir’s house in Lo-debar.
  6. 2 Samuel 9:6Mephibosheth comes before David, falls on his face to the ground, and David calls him by name, receiving from him the answer of a humble servant.
  7. 2 Samuel 9:7David fulfills a covenant of loyalty made earlier with Jonathan, restoring to Mephibosheth all the land that had belonged to Saul—this kind of commitment to honor a dead friend by caring for his family was taken very seriously in the culture of the time.
  8. 2 Samuel 9:8Mephibosheth calls himself “a dead dog” before David—the same image of self-abasement David had used with Saul in 1 Samuel 24, a common way of publicly acknowledging that one is entirely at the mercy of the one in power.
  9. 2 Samuel 9:9David calls Ziba and announces that he is giving to Jonathan’s son everything that belonged to Saul.
  10. 2 Samuel 9:10David orders Ziba, his sons, and his servants to farm this land to support Mephibosheth’s household, who would continue eating at the king’s table—and the text notes that Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
  11. 2 Samuel 9:11Ziba agrees to do all the king commands, and Mephibosheth eats at David’s table like one of the king’s own sons.
  12. 2 Samuel 9:12Mephibosheth had a young son named Micha, and everyone living in Ziba’s household becomes Mephibosheth’s servants.
  13. 2 Samuel 9:13Mephibosheth comes to live in Jerusalem, always eating at the king’s table, even though he was lame in both feet.

Chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play