2 Samuel 9 · Verse 10

2 Samuel 9:10

Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
2 Samuel 9:10, King James Version

2 Samuel 9:10 in other translations

BSBYou and your sons and servants are to work the ground for him and bring in the harvest, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is always to eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
WEBTill the land for him—you, your sons, and your servants. Bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have bread to eat; but Mephibosheth your master’s son will always eat bread at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
ASVAnd thou shalt till the land for him, thou, and thy sons, and thy servants; and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have bread to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
YLTand thou hast served for him the land, thou and thy sons, and thy servants, and hast brought in, and there hath been to the son of thy lord bread, and he hath eaten it; and Mephibosheth son of thy lord doth eat continually bread at my table;' and Ziba hath fifteen sons and twenty servants.
DARBYAnd thou, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat. And Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread at my table continually. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
BBEAnd you and your sons and your servants are to take care of the land for him, and get in the fruit of it, so that your master's son may have food: but Mephibosheth, your master's son, will have a place at my table at all times. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
WebsterThou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

What does 2 Samuel 9:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
10. Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants--The mention of his sons and the slaves in his house was to show that Mephibosheth would be honored with an equipage "as one of the king's sons."

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 Thou therefore, and thy sons - shall till the land - It seems that Ziba and his family had the care of the whole estate, and cultivated it at their own expense, yielding the half of the produce to the family of Mephibosheth. Ziba was properly the hind, whose duty and interest it was to take proper care of the ground, for the better it was cultivated the more it produced; and his half would consequently be the greater.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 9:9-13

As David was a type of Christ, his Lord and Son, his Root and Offspring, let his kindness to Mephibosheth remind us of the kindness and love of God our Saviour to fallen man, to whom he was under no obligation, as David was to Jonathan. The Son of God seeks this lost and ruined race, who sought not after him. He comes to seek and to save them!

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 9:9-13 →

2 Samuel 9:10 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.

וְעָבַ֣דְתָּve.'a.Vad.taand you will workH5647
לּ֣וֹlofor <the> him
אֶֽת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאֲדָמָ֡הha.'a.da.Mahthe landH127
אַתָּה֩'a.TahyouH859
וּבָנֶ֨יךָu.va.Nei.khaand sons yourH1121
וַעֲבָדֶ֜יךָva.'a.va.Dei.khaand servants yourH5650
וְהֵבֵ֗אתָve.he.Ve.taand you will bringH935
וְהָיָ֨הve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961
לְבֶן\־le.ven-for [the] son ofH1121
אֲדֹנֶ֤יךָ'a.do.Nei.khamaster<s> yourH113
לֶּ֙חֶם֙le.chemfoodH3899
וַאֲכָל֔וֹva.'a.kha.Loand he will eat itH398
וּמְפִיבֹ֙שֶׁת֙u.me.fi.Vo.shetand MephiboshethH4648
בֶּן\־ben-[the] son ofH1121
אֲדֹנֶ֔יךָ'a.do.Nei.khamaster<s> yourH113
יֹאכַ֥לyo.Khalhe will eatH398
תָּמִ֛ידta.MidcontinuallyH8548
לֶ֖חֶםLe.chemfoodH3899
עַל\־'al-onH5921
שֻׁלְחָנִ֑יshul.cha.Nitable myH7979
וּלְצִיבָ֗אu.le.tzi.Va'and [belonged] to ZibaH6717
חֲמִשָּׁ֥הcha.mi.Shahfif-H2568
עָשָׂ֛ר'a.SarteenH6240
בָּנִ֖יםba.NimsonsH1121
וְעֶשְׂרִ֥יםve.'es.Rimand twentyH6242
עֲבָדִֽים\׃'a.va.DimservantsH5650

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 9:10

  • 2 Samuel 9:7

    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.

  • 2 Samuel 19:28

    For all of my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king?

  • 2 Kings 25:29

    And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.

  • 2 Samuel 9:11-13

    Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.

  • Luke 14:15

    And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
shall eat bread.The eating at courts was of two kinds; the one public and ceremonious, the other private. Sir John Chardin understands those passages which speak of a right to eat at the royal table, as pointing out a right to a seat there, when the repast was public and solemn. So in a MS. Note on 1 Ki 2:7, he tells us that it was to be understood of the {majilis,} (the term for an assembly of lords, or a public feast,) and not of the daily and ordinary repast. Hence, though Mephibosheth was to eat at all public times at the king's table, yet he would want the produce of his lands for food at other times, which it was necessary for Ziba to understand.
7,11-13; 19:28; 2Ki 25:29; Lu 14:15

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

Context

  • 2 Samuel 9:9

    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 9:10

    Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

  • 2 Samuel 9:11

    Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.

Read all of 2 Samuel 9

2 Samuel 9:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Tú pues le labrarás las tierras, tú con tus hijos, y tus siervos, y encerrarás los frutos, para que el hijo de tu señor tenga con qué mantenerse; y Mephi-boseth el hijo de tu señor comerá siempre pan á mi mesa. Y tenía Siba quince hijos y veinte siervos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et tu cultiveras pour lui la terre, toi et tes fils et tes serviteurs, et tu en apporteras les fruits, et le fils de ton seigneur aura du pain à manger; et Mephibosheth, fils de ton seigneur, mangera continuellement le pain à ma table. Or Tsiba avait 15 fils et 20 serviteurs.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und du sollst ihm das Land bauen, du und deine Söhne und deine Knechte, und den Ertrag einbringen, damit der Sohn deines Herrn Brot zu essen habe. Und Mephiboseth, der Sohn deines Herrn, soll beständig an meinem Tische essen. Und Ziba hatte fünfzehn Söhne und zwanzig Knechte.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Operare igitur ei terram tu, et filii tui, et servi tui, et inferes filio domini tui cibos ut alatur: Miphiboseth autem filius domini tui comedet semper panem super mensam meam. Erant autem Sibæ quindecim filii, et viginti servi.