New King James Version
2 Samuel 9:8
8Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”
2 Samuel 9:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
- New International Version (NIV)Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he paid homage and said, "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?"
- New Living Translation (NLT)Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”
Context of 2 Samuel 9:8
6Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” 7So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?” 9And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
Read all of 2 Samuel 92 Samuel 9:8 word by word
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֕חוּ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מֶ֣ה עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֣י פָנִ֔יתָ אֶל־הַכֶּ֥לֶב הַמֵּ֖ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּמֽוֹנִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 9:8
- 2 Samuel 3:8Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman?
- 2 Samuel 16:9Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!”
- 1 Samuel 24:14After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?
- 1 Samuel 26:20So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
- Matthew 15:26But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 9:8
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Mephibosheth‘s humility of expression, even in the mouth of an Oriental, is painful. It was perhaps in part the result of his helpless lameness, and of the other misfortunes of his life. A dead dog - The wild dogs of the East, which still abound in every town, are the natural objects of contempt and dislike.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8a dead dog like me: Mephibosheth understood that anyone who might claim the throne could be killed as a potential threat to the king.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-122Sa 9:1-12. David Sends for Mephibosheth. 1-7. David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul--On inquiry, Saul's land steward was found, who gave information that there still survived Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan who was five years old at his father's death, and whom David, then wandering in exile, had never seen. His lameness (2Sa 4:4) had prevented him from taking any part in the public contests of the time. Besides, according to…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 9:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries