Then the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’ ”
Parallel translations
- WEB The king said, “Where is your master’s son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is staying in Jerusalem; for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore me the kingdom of my father.’”
- KJV 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 shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.
- BSB “Where is your master’s grandson?” asked the king. And Ziba answered, “Indeed, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he has said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my grandfather.’”
- NASB Then the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” And Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’ ”
- NLT “And where is Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson?” the king asked him. “He stayed in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.’”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ziba claims Mephibosheth stayed in Jerusalem hoping to regain Saul's kingdom. The accusation casts David's friend's son as a traitor.
Overview
Ziba alleges that Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, has betrayed David by lingering in the city to seize the throne. Whether this is true or a slander to gain his master's estate is left unresolved here; Mephibosheth will later give a very different account (19:24-27). The episode shows David, in his distress, vulnerable to potentially false counsel, and readers are meant to weigh the conflicting claims rather than rush to judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Sam 9:9–10Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s son.
- Mic 7:5Don’t trust in a neighbor. Don’t put confidence in a friend. With the woman lying in your embrace, be careful of the words of your mouth!
- Ps 15:3He who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man;
- Exod 20:16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
- Ps 101:5I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is haughty and conceited.
- 2 Sam 19:24–30Mephibosheth 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.
- Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Ps 88:18You have put lover and friend far from me, and my friends into darkness.
- Prov 1:19So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.
- Prov 21:28A false witness will perish, and a man who listens speaks to eternity.
- 1 Tim 6:9–10But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
- Deut 19:18–19and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother;
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 16:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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