Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face, and showed respect. David said, “Mephibosheth.” He answered, “Behold, your servant!”
Parallel Translations
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Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face, and showed respect. David said, “Mephibosheth.” He answered, “Behold, your servant!”
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Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
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And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came unto David, and fell on his face, and prostrated himself. And David said: 'Mephibosheth!' And he answered: 'Behold thy servant!'
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 9:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Samuel 16:4 Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” Ziba said, “I bow down. Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, O king.”
- 1 Chronicles 9:40 The son of Jonathan was Merib Baal. Merib Baal became the father of Micah.
- 2 Samuel 19:24-30 Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither groomed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. When he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?” He answered, “My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and go with the king,’ because your servant is lame. He has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is as an angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes. For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right therefore have I yet that I should cry any more to the king?” The king said to him, “Why do you speak any more of your matters? I say, you and Ziba divide the land.” Mephibosheth said to the king, “Yes, let him take all, because my lord the king has come in peace to his own house.”
- 1 Samuel 25:23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got off her donkey, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.
- 1 Chronicles 8:34 The son of Jonathan was Merib Baal. Merib Baal became the father of Micah.
- Genesis 18:2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,
- Genesis 33:3 He himself passed over in front of them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
- 1 Samuel 20:41 As soon as the boy was gone, David arose out of the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another, and wept one with another, and David wept the most.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 9:6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan,…
2Sa 9:6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
Ver. 6. And David said, Mephibosheth.] He is also called Meribbaal, {1Ch 8:34} but his name was, haply, turned to Mephibosheth, saith Martyr, for some deformity that happened to his face in his fall. {2Sa 4:4}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son…
Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul,.... For that was his name, though sometimes called Meribbaal, Ch1 8:34; and this was his relation to Jonathan and Saul, the son of the one, and grandson of the other:
was come unto David; to his court and palace in Jerusalem, being thither brought; for he could not go of himself, being lame:
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he fell on his face, and did reverence; to him as a king, in a civil way, and in the best manner he could, considering that he was lame on his feet:
and David said, Mephibosheth; is it he? having learnt what his name was, this he expressed with great vehemency and affection, as glad that he had found one of Jonathan's posterity: and
he answered, behold thy servant! he answered to his name, and owned his subjection to David, and was ready to take the oath of allegiance to him, and give him homage, and serve him in what way he could.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Sa 9:6-8. He fell on his face and did…
2Sa 9:6-8. He fell on his face and did reverence — As the manner was when men came into the presence of the king or king’s son; for thus David himself prostrated himself before Jonathan, 1Sa 20:41. I will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father — That is, according to our mode of speaking, thy grand-father. This land was, perhaps, the family estate of Saul, to which he had annexed other lands for his private use. But because they had been taken by virtue of Saul’s royal prerogative, therefore they were now considered, and perhaps had been seized, as appertaining to his successor on the throne, David. And he bowed himself — It is good to have the heart humbled under humbling providences. If, when divine providence brings our condition down, divine grace bring our spirits down, we shall be easy. That thou shouldest look on such a dead dog — This is a high expression of humility; for a dog was accounted a vile and unclean creature, and a dead dog as of no use at all. And it is likely that Mephibosheth spoke this, both in regard of his bodily infirmity of lameness, and because he was not instructed in, or had no natural genius for affairs of state.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Mephibosheth - Also called Merib-baal (and Meri-baal, probably by…
Mephibosheth - Also called Merib-baal (and Meri-baal, probably by a clerical error, 1Ch 9:40). The two names seem to have the same meaning: Bosheth, shame, being the equivalent for Baal, and Mephi (scattering or destroying, being equivalent to Merib (contending with). Compare Ish-bosheth and Esh-baal, Jerub-baal and Jerub-besheth.
He fell on his face - In fear. Such generosity to a fallen rival as David showed in restoring him his paternal property seemed to him scarcely credible.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. Fell on his face — Probably fearing that…
6. Fell on his face — Probably fearing that he had been suspected as an aspirant to the throne of his grandfather Saul, (comp. 2Sa_16:3,) and had been summoned into the king’s presence to receive sentence of death.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. Mephibosheth] See note on ch. 2Sa_4:4.
6. Mephibosheth] See note on ch. 2Sa_4:4.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain He fell on his face. Mephibosheth probably expected the…
He fell on his face. Mephibosheth probably expected the fate which in the East usually befalls the members of a dethroned dynasty. Subsequently in Israel each new line of usurpers put to death every male relative of its predecessor, and it was with difficulty in Judah that one babe was rescued from the hands of its own grandmother, Athaliah, when she usurped the throne. Looked at, then, in the light of Oriental policy, David"s conduct was most generous.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 9:6 Given Mephibosheth’s physical limitations, bowing low to the…
9:6 Given Mephibosheth’s physical limitations, bowing low to the ground must have been very difficult.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.