And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba, and they called him unto David; and the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, who is lame of his feet.
And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.
Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar.
And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came unto David, and fell on his face, and did obeisance. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold, thy servant!
And David said unto him, Fear not; for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the {Hebrew: field.}land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
And he did obeisance, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, All that pertained to Saul and to all his house have I given unto thy master's son.
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.
Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king commandeth his servant, so shall thy servant do. {Or, But Mephibosheth eateth &c.}As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.
And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem; for he did eat continually at the king's table. And he was lame in both his feet.
Querverweise zu 2. Samuel 9,2 2Sam 9,2
And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I {Or, go hence}go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?
And when David was a little past the top of the ascent, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a {Or, skin}bottle of wine.
And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses are for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as are faint in the wilderness may drink.
And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem; for he said, To-day will the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.
Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine is all that pertaineth unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I do obeisance; let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, O king.
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house in mine heir.
And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went through the Jordan in the presence of the king.
And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as {Or, the}an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.
For all my father's house were but {Hebrew: men of death.}dead men before my lord the king; yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet that I should cry any more unto the king?
And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I say, Thou and Ziba divide the land.
And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and {Or, with him he knew not}he knew not aught that was with him, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was comely, and well-favored.