¹⁰ You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat, but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.^(A)

⁷ David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.”^(A)

²⁸ For all my father’s house were doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to appeal to the king?”^(A)

The Parable of the Great Dinner

¹⁵ One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”^(A)

²⁹ So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes. Every day of his life he dined regularly in the king’s presence.^(A)

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s^[a] table, like one of the king’s sons. ¹² Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants.^{(A) 13} Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.^(B)