2 Samuel 19 · Verse 24

2 Samuel 19:24

And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.
2 Samuel 19:24, King James Version

2 Samuel 19:24 in other translations

BSBThen Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king had left until the day he returned safely.
WEBMephibosheth 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.
ASVAnd Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.
YLTAnd Mephibosheth son of Saul hath come down to meet the king--and he prepared not his feet, nor did he prepare his upper lip, yea, his garments he washed not, even from the day of the going away of the king, till the day that he came in peace--
DARBYAnd Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. Now he had neither washed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.
BBEAnd Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son, came down for the purpose of meeting the king; his feet had not been cared for or his hair cut or his clothing washed from the day when the king went away till the day when he came back in peace.
WebsterAnd Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.

What does 2 Samuel 19:24 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 19:24-30
24-30. Mephibosheth ... came down to meet the king--The reception given to Mephibosheth was less creditable to David. The sincerity of that prince's grief for the misfortunes of the king cannot be doubted. He had neither dressed his feet--not taken the bath, nor trimmed his beard--The Hebrews cut off the hair on the upper lip (see on Le 13:45), and cheeks, but carefully cherished it on the chin from ear to ear. Besides dyeing it black or red colors, which, however, is the exception, and not the rule in the East, there are various modes of trimming it: they train it into a massy, bushy form, swelling and round; or they terminate it like a pyramid, in a sharp point. Whatever the mode, it is always trimmed with the greatest care; and they usually carry a small comb for the purpose. The neglect of this attention to his beard was an undoubted proof of the depth of Mephibosheth's grief. The king seems to have received him upbraidingly, and not to have been altogether sure either of his guilt or innocence. It is impossible to commend the cavalier treatment, any more than to approve the partial award, of David in this case. If he were too hurried and distracted by the pressure of circumstances to inquire fully into the matter, he should have postponed his decision; for if by "dividing the land" (2Sa 19:29) he meant that the former arrangement should be continued by which Mephibosheth was acknowledged the proprietor, and Ziba the farmer, it was a hardship inflicted on the owner to fix him with a tenant who had so grossly slandered him. But if by "dividing the land," they were now to share alike, the injustice of the decision was greatly increased. In any view, the generous, disinterested spirit displayed by Mephibosheth was worthy a son of the noble-hearted Jonathan.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 24 Neither dressed his feet - He had given the fullest proof of his sincere attachment to David and his cause; and by what he had done, amply refuted the calumnies of his servant Ziba.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 19:24-30
David recalls the forfeiture of Mephibosheth's estate; and he expressed joy for the king's return. A good man contentedly bears his own losses, while he sees Israel in peace, and the Son of David exalted.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

2 Samuel 19:24 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וּמְפִבֹ֙שֶׁת֙u.me.fi.Vo.shetand MephiboshethH4648
בֶּן\־ben-[the] son ofH1121
שָׁא֔וּלsha.'UlSaulH7586
יָרַ֖דya.Radhe went downH3381
לִקְרַ֣אתlik.Ratto meetH7122
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
עָשָׂ֨ה'a.Sahhe had doneH6213
רַגְלָ֜יוrag.Lavfeet hisH7272
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
עָשָׂ֣ה'a.Sahhe had doneH6213
שְׂפָמ֗וֹse.fa.Momoustache hisH8222
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
בְּגָדָיו֙be.ga.Davclothes hisH899
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
כִבֵּ֔סkhi.Beshe had washedH3526
לְמִן\־le.min-<to> fromH4480
הַיּוֹם֙hai.yOmthe dayH3117
לֶ֣כֶתLe.khetwentH1980
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
עַד\־'ad-untilH5704
הַיּ֖וֹםhai.Yomthe dayH3117
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whenH834
בָּ֥אba'he cameH935
בְשָׁלֽוֹם\׃ve.sha.Lomin peaceH7965

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Samuel 19:24

  • Isaiah 15:2

    He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.

  • Jeremiah 41:5

    That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord.

  • Romans 12:15

    Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

  • 2 Samuel 9:6-10

    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! And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. …

  • 2 Samuel 16:3

    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.

  • 2 Samuel 15:30

    And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

  • Matthew 6:16

    Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

  • Hebrews 13:3

    Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Mephibosheth.
9:6; 16:3
dressed his feet.Literally, made his feet, which seems to mean washing the feet paring the nails, and perhaps anointing or otherwise perfuming them, if not tinging the nails with henna; see Note on De 21:12. Sir John Chardin, in his MS. note on this place, informs us, that it is customary in the East to have as much care of the feet as the hands; and that their barbers cut and adjust the nails with a proper instrument, because they often go barefoot. The nails of the toes of the mummies inspected in London in 1763, of which an account is given in the Philosophical Transactions for 1764, seem to have been tinged with some reddish colour.
15:30; Isa 15:2; Jer 41:5; Mt 6:16; Ro 12:15; Heb 13:3
trimmed.Literally, made his beard, which may mean, combing, curling, and perfuming it. But Mr. Morier says that they almost universally dye the beard black, by successive layers of a paste made of henna, and another made of the leaf of the indigo: the first tinging with an orange colour, and the next with a dark bottle green, which becomes jet black when exposed to the air for twenty-four hours.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Samuel 19:23

    Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.

  • 2 Samuel 19:24

    And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.

  • 2 Samuel 19:25

    And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?

Read all of 2 Samuel 19

2 Samuel 19:24 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		También Mephi-boseth hijo de Saúl descendió á recibir al rey: no había lavado sus pies, ni había cortado su barba, ni tampoco había lavado sus vestidos, desde el día que el rey salió hasta el día que vino en paz.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le roi dit à Shimhi: Tu ne mourras point. Et le roi le lui jura.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Mephiboseth, der Sohn Sauls, kam herab, dem König entgegen. Und er hatte seine Füße nicht gereinigt und seinen Bart nicht gemacht und seine Kleider nicht gewaschen von dem Tage an, da der König weggegangen war, bis zu dem Tage, da er in Frieden einzog.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Miphiboseth quoque filius Saul descendit in occursum regis, illotis pedibus et intonsa barba: vestesque suas non laverat a die qua egressus fuerat rex, usque ad diem reversionis ejus in pace.