David’s kindness to Miphiboseth for the sake of his father Jonathan.
Miphiboseth a lame sonne of Ionathas is piously releeud by Dauid: 9. geuing to his vse the particuar inheritance of Saul.
1And David said: Is there any one, think you, left of the house of Saul, that I may shew kindness to him for Jonathan’s sake?Allora David disse: Chi sa, se siavi rimaso alcuno della casa di Saul, a cui possa io far del bene per amore di Gionata?AND Dauid sayd: Is there any thinke you that is remaining of the house of Saul, that I may do mercie with him for Ionathas sake?Et dixit David: Putasne est aliquis qui remanserit de domo Saul, ut faciam cum eo misericordiam propter Jonathan ? 2Now there was of the house of Saul, a servant named Siba: and when the king had called him to him, he said to him: Art thou Siba? And he answered: I am Siba thy servant.Ed eravi un servo della casa di Saul per nome Siba: e il re chiamatolo a se, gli disse: Se' tu Siba? e quegli rispose: Son quel desso io tuo servo.And there was of the house of Saul, a seruant named Siba: whom when the king had called vnto him, he said to him: art thou Siba? And he answered: I am so thy seruant.Erat autem de domo Saul servus nomine Siba: quem cum vocasset rex ad se, dixit ei: Tune es Siba ? Et ille respondit: Ego sum servus tuus. 3And the king said: Is there any one left of the house of Saul, that I may shew the mercy of God unto him? And Siba said to the king: There is a son of Jonathan left, who is lame of his feet.E il re soggiunse: Vi ha egli alcuno della casa di Saul, a cui io possa far del bene in buondato? E Siba rispose al re: È rimaso un figliuolo di Gionata, debole di gambe.And the king said: Is there anie remaining of the house of Saul, that I may doe with him the mercie of God? And Siba said to the king: There is yet liuing a sonne of Ionathas, lame of his feete.Et ait rex: Numquid superest aliquis de domo Saul, ut faciam cum eo misericordiam Dei ? Dixitque Siba regi: Superest filius Jonathæ, debilis pedibus. 4Where is he? said he. And Siba said to the king: Behold he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lodabar.E dove è egli? disse David. Rispose Siba: Egli è a Lodabar in casa di Machir figliuolo di Ammiel.Where is he? quoth he. And Siba sayd to the king: Behold he is in the house of Machir the sonne of Ammiel in Lodabar.Ubi, inquit, est ? Et Siba ad regem: Ecce, ait, in domo est Machir filii Ammiel, in Lodabar. 5Then King David sent, and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodabar.Allora il re David mandò a prenderlo a Lodabar, a casa di Machir figliuolo di Ammiel.King Dauid therefore sent, and tooke him out of the house of Machir the sonne of Ammiel of Lodabar.Misit ergo rex David, et tulit eum de domo Machir filii Ammiel, de Lodabar.
6And when Miphiboseth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul was come to David, he fell on his face and worshipped. And David said: Miphiboseth? And he answered: Behold thy servant.E giunto che fu Miphiboseth figliuolo di Gionata figliuolo di Saul alla presenza di Davidde, si prostrò boccone per terra, e lo adorò. E David disse: Miphiboseth? Ed ei rispose: Ecco qui il tuo servo.And when Miphiboseth the sonne of Ionathas the sonne of Saul was come to Dauid, he fel on his face, and adored. And Dauid said: Miphiboseth? Who answered: Here I am thy seruant.Cum autem venisset Miphiboseth filius Jonathæ filii Saul ad David, corruit in faciem suam, et adoravit. Dixitque David: Miphiboseth ? Qui respondit: Adsum servus tuus. 7And David said to him: Fear not, for I will surely shew thee mercy for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and I will restore the lands of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread at my table always.E David disse: Non temere, perocché io ti farò del bene assai per amore di Gionata padre tuo, e ti renderò tutti i poderi di Saul tuo avolo, e tu mangerai sempre alla mia mensa.And Dauid said to him: Feare not, because doing I wil do mercie on thee for Ionathas thy father, & I wil restore the landes of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eate bread vpon my table alwaies.Et ait ei David: Ne timeas, quia faciens faciam in te misericordiam propter Jonathan patrem tuum, et restituam tibi omnes agros Saul patris tui: et tu comedes panem in mensa mea semper. 8He bowed down to him, and said: Who am I thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?E quegli inchinatosi profondamente disse: Chi son io tuo servo, onde tu abbi voluto rivolger lo sguardo ad un cane morto, quale son io?Who adoring him, said: Who am I thy seruant, that thou hast respect vpon a dead dogge like vnto me?Qui adorans eum, dixit: Quis ego sum servus tuus, quoniam respexisti super canem mortuum similem mei ? 9Then the King called Siba the servant of Saul, and said to him: All that belonged to Saul, and all his house, I have given to thy master’s son.David pertanto chiamò Siba servo di Saul, e gli disse: Io ho donato al figliuolo del tuo signore tutto quello che possedeva Saul, e tutti i beni della sua casa.The king therefore called Siba the seruant of Saul, and said to him: Al thinges whatsoeuer were Sauls, and al his house, I haue geuen to thy masters sonne.Vocavit itaque rex Sibam puerum Saul, et dixit ei: Omnia quæcumque fuerunt Saul, et universam domum ejus, dedi filio domini tui. 10Thou therefore and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him: and thou shalt bring in food for thy master’s son, that he may be maintained: and Miphiboseth the son of thy master shall always eat bread at my table. And Siba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.Lavorate adunque le sue terre tu, e i tuoi figliuoli, e i tuoi garzoni, e darai da mangiare al figliuolo del tuo signore, e da mantenersi: ma Miphiboseth figliuolo del tuo signore mangerà sempre alla mia mensa. E Siba avea quindici figliuoli, e venti servi.Til for him therefore the land, thou and thy sonnes, and thy seruants: and thou shalt bring in meates for thy masters sonne, that he may be maintained: and Miphiboseth the sonne of thy lord shal eate alwaies bread vpon my table. And Siba had fiftene sonnes, and twentie seruants.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.
11And Siba said to the king: As thou my lord the king hast commanded thy servant, so will thy servant do: and Miphiboseth shall eat at my table, as one of the sons of the King.E Siba disse al re: Il tuo servo farà, o re mio signore, come tu hai comandato: e Miphiboseth mangerà alla mia mensa, come uno de' figliuoli del re.and Siba said to the king: As thou my lord king hast commanded thy seruant, so wil thy seruant doe: and Miphiboseth shal eate vpon my table, as one of the sonnes of the king.Dixitque Siba ad regem: Sicut jussisti, domine mi rex, servo tuo, sic faciet servus tuus: et Miphiboseth comedet super mensam meam, quasi unus de filiis regis. 12And Miphiboseth had a young son whose name was Micha: and all that kindred of the house of Siba served Miphiboseth.Or Miphiboseth aveva un piccolo figliuolo per nome Micha: e tutta la famiglia di Siba serviva Miphiboseth.And Miphiboseth had a little sonne called Micha: and al the kinred of the house of Siba serued Miphiboseth.Habebat autem Miphiboseth filium parvulum nomine Micha: omnis vero cognatio domus Sibæ serviebat Miphiboseth. 13But Miphiboseth dwelt in Jerusalem: because he ate always of the king’s table: and he was lame of both feet.E Miphiboseth dimorava in Gerusalemme: perocché mangiava continuamente alla mensa del re; ed era zoppo d'ambedue le gambe.Moreouer Miphiboseth dwelt in Ierusalem: because he did eate alwaies of the kings table: and he was lame on both feete.Porro Miphiboseth habitabat in Jerusalem, quia de mensa regis jugiter vescebatur: et erat claudus utroque pede.
9:1
Salien
Saul. David was solicitous only about the descendants of Jonathan, who was the eldest son. The rest he afterwards gave up to be crucified, while he ordered the patrimony of Saul to be given to Miphiboseth, who was now about twenty years old. (Salien, the year before Christ 1058.)
Haydock
It is rather wonderful that David had not thought of his old friend sooner. But we are not obliged to suppose that he had reigned fifteen years, without being mindful of his repeated promises to Jonathan, 1 Kings 20:42. (Haydock)
Calmet
This event took place towards the beginning of his reign. (Calmet)
9:2
Menochius
Servant, of free man of Saul, and a convert. (Josephus) (Menochius)
9:4
Calmet
Lodabar, probably on the east side of the Jordan. (Calmet)
Menochius
Machir was a powerful man of the tribe of Manasses. (Menochius)
9:7
Haydock
Father, or grandfather. (Haydock)
Calmet
It is thought that all his goods had been confiscated, in consequence of Isboseth's assuming the regal dignity. (Calmet)
Menochius
David might give the property to whom he pleased. (Menochius)
Calmet
Always. This was a mark of the greatest distinction, Luke 22:30. The Romans sometimes made their slaves free, in this manner, per mensam. (Calmet)
9:9
Menochius
Son, Miphiboseth. Some understand less correctly, (Calmet) "I have given to Micha, the son of Miphiboseth, all that belonged to Saul; and, as for Miphiboseth, I give him my table." (Munster; Vatable; Salien) (Menochius)
9:10
Haydock
Servants under him, though all belonged to Miphiboseth. (Haydock)
9:11
Sanchez
My table, if the king shall please so to order. (Sanchez)
Calmet
It would seem that Siba did not properly understand the king. (Calmet)
Haydock
The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic, read, perhaps more correctly u, "his," instead of i, "my table," in shulchani. "And Memphibosthai ate at David's table, as one," etc. (Haydock)
Menochius
He did not merely eat of the king's table, (ver. 13,) but at it, super mensam, as the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Septuagint express. (Menochius)
9:13
Haydock
Feet, from five years of age, 2 Kings 4:4. If we add the seven years and a half of his uncle's reign, and suppose that David would take this notice of him, as soon as he had it in his power, after the taking of Jerusalem, we may conclude that he was about thirteen years old when he was presented to the king, and behaved with the most engaging modesty and respect. If he had already a son, (ver. 12,) we may allow a few years more. (Haydock)
9:7
The parti•• lar inhere•••• that per••ined to Sauls familie.
9:10
Not si••e 〈◊〉 table with the king but haue his diet of the kinges prouision, besides the forsaide inheritance.
9:1
1. FOR JONATHAN? Behold how faithful and constant in friendship with Jonathan David was, inasmuch as he not only benefited him while living, but also after his death, enriching his son. For, as Theodoret says: "He who was kind to his enemies never forgot his friends;" and, as Josephus says, "he was especially mindful of those who had ever done him good."
9:7
7. I WILL RESTORE TO THEE ALL THE FIELDS OF SAUL THY FATHER, which, before he became king, he had from paternal inheritance, or had acquired for himself; for those which he acquired after becoming king, as royal goods, devolved by common law to his successor the king, namely David.
9:8
8. HAST THOU LOOKED UPON A DEAD DOG LIKE ME? that is to say, hast thou looked upon a dead dog, such as I am: for he compares himself and calls himself a dead dog, so that he might humble himself and show his own vileness, inasmuch as he was left an orphan, nay a small child, lame, miserable and needy after the death of his grandfather and father, and despised by all like a dead dog.
9:11
11. AND SIBA SAID TO THE KING: AS THOU HAST COMMANDED, MY LORD THE KING, THY SERVANT, SO SHALL THY SERVANT DO; AND MIPHIBOSETH SHALL EAT BREAD AT MY TABLE AS ONE OF THE KING'S SONS. There is here an antilogy; for how does Siba here say that Miphiboseth shall eat at his table, when David had just assigned him to his own table? Various ones reconcile this in various ways. I say therefore that "and" here stands for "nay," as it is also taken elsewhere by auxesis, that is to say, Siba: As thou hast commanded, O king, so shall thy servant do, to nourish Micha the son of Miphiboseth; nay rather, if thou wilt, "Miphiboseth shall eat at my table," that is to say, If thou wilt, I shall continue to nourish Miphiboseth himself as magnificently as if he were a king's son. Thus Sanchez.
Allegorical Interpretation Allegorically, David, exalting the abject and lame Mephibosheth, represents Christ, who chooses the weak and contemptible things of the world, that he may confound the strong, I Corinthians I, inasmuch as he himself, as Angelomus says, "chooses for divine ministry him whom he perceives to be weak in speech and action for the ministries of the age and worldly affairs; because him whom the world despises through the pride of exaltation, God acquires through the devotion of humility. For Mephibosheth is interpreted, the beauty of ignominy. He therefore, whose speech and presence the pride of the world despises, shall appear useful by God's gift for spiritual ministry in the Church."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
9:4
… He was five years old when his father died, and on that day he fell from the arms of his nurse as she fled, remaining crippled forever (II Sam. 4:4). He lived for many years, unknown to all, at Lodabar, in Transjordan (II Sam. 9:4). Taken from his retirement and summoned to court by David (mindful of Jonathan's friendship), he recovered all the lands that had belonged to Saul and became, despite his humble protests, …
9:9
… Having become free, perhaps at the fall of Saul, he had acquired a large family (15 sons and 20 servants), but he was put back by David into the service of Miphiboseth (v.) as a tenant farmer (II Sam. 9:9 ff.). …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.