And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.
Parallel translations
- WEB He has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is as an angel of God. Do therefore what is good in your eyes.
- BSB and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do what is good in your eyes.
- NKJV And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes.
- NASB Furthermore, he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight.
- NLT Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best.
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
Mephibosheth said Ziba had slandered him, yet he trusted David, likened to an angel of God, to do what was right. It matters because he committed his cause to the king's wise judgment.
Overview
Rather than demanding vindication, Mephibosheth entrusted his case to David's discernment, comparing the king to an angel of God. His humility and faith in the king's justice stand in contrast to Ziba's grasping deceit. The verse models quiet trust in a righteous king's verdict, a posture fitting toward the Lord Himself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Sam 14:20To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
- 2 Sam 14:17Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.
- 2 Sam 16:3And 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.
- 1 Sam 29:9And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.
- Jer 9:4Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
- Exod 20:16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
- Ps 101:5Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
- Ps 15:3He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 19:27 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.