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14-15 (A) Someday the Lord will wipe out all of your enemies. Then if I'm still alive, please be as kind to me as the Lord has been. But if I'm dead, be kind to my family.

16 Jonathan and David made an agreement that even David's descendants would have to keep.[a] Then Jonathan said, “I pray that the Lord will take revenge on your descendants if they break our promise.”[b]

17 Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself, so he asked David to promise once more that he would be a loyal friend.

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Footnotes

  1. 20.16 Jonathan … keep: Or, continuing Jonathan's statement to David, “You and your descendants must not kill off my descendants.”
  2. 20.16 I pray … promise: Or “I pray that the Lord take revenge on you if you break our promise!”

14 But show me unfailing kindness(A) like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family(B)—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan(C) made a covenant(D) with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.(E) 17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath(F) out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

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David Is Kind to Mephibosheth

(A) One day, David thought, “I wonder if any of Saul's family are still alive. If they are, I will be kind to them, because I made a promise to Jonathan.” David called in Ziba, one of the servants of Saul's family. David said, “So you are Ziba.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I am.”

(B) David asked, “Are any of Saul's family still alive? If there are, I want to be kind to them.”

Ziba answered, “One of Jonathan's sons is still alive, but he can't walk.”

“Where is he?” David asked.

Ziba replied, “He lives in Lo-Debar with Machir the son of Ammiel.”

5-6 David sent some servants to bring Jonathan's son from Lo-Debar. His name was Mephibosheth,[a] and he was the grandson of Saul. He came to David and knelt down.

David asked, “Are you Mephibosheth?”

“Yes, I am, Your Majesty.”

David said, “Don't be afraid. I'll be kind to you because Jonathan was your father. I'm going to give you back the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul. Besides that, you will always eat with me at my table.”

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Footnotes

  1. 9.5,6 Mephibosheth: Or “Mephibaal” (see the note at 4.4).

David and Mephibosheth

David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”(A)

Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba.(B) They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan;(C) he is lame(D) in both feet.”

“Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir(E) son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.(F)

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.(G) I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.(H)

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