2-Samuel - 19:25



25 It happened, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, "Why didn't you go with me, Mephibosheth?"

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 2-Samuel 19:25.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
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?
And when he met the king at Jerusalem, the king said to him: Why camest thou not with me, Miphiboseth?
And as soon as Jerusalem came to meet the king, the king said to him, Why didst thou not go with me, Mephibosheth?
And it came to pass, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, Why didst thou not go with me, Mephibosheth?
And when he had met the king at Jerusalem, the king said to him, "Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?"

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And it came to pass, when (l) he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?
(l) When Mephibosheth being at Jerusalem had met the King.

And it came to pass, when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king,.... Perhaps from the place where his estate was; or, as the Arabic version, when he came from Jerusalem, from whence he went a little way to meet the king, as he was coming thither; for it was said he abode at Jerusalem, 2-Samuel 16:3,
that the king said unto him, wherefore wentest not thou with me,
Mephibosheth? when he departed from Jerusalem, being obliged to flee from thence because of Absalom; it is very probable David would never have asked him this question, knowing his lameness, had it not been for the suggestion of Ziba his servant, that he stayed at Jerusalem, hoping that the kingdom of his father would be restored to him, 2-Samuel 16:3.

"Now when Jerusalem (i.e., the inhabitants of the capital) came to meet the king,"
(Note: Dathe and Thenius propose to alter ירוּשׁלים into מירוּשׁלים (from Jerusalem), from a simple misunderstanding of the true meaning of the words; for, as Bttcher has observed, the latter (from Jerusalem) would be quite superfluous, as it is already contained in the previous ירד. But Bttcher's emendation of בּא into בּאה, because Jerusalem or the population of Jerusalem is a feminine notion, is equally unnecessary, since towns and lands are frequently construed as masculines when the inhabitants are intended (vid., Ewald, 318, a.). On the other hand, the rendering adopted by the lxx, and by Luther, Michaelis, and Maurer, in which ירוּשׁלים is taken as an accusative in the sense of "when Mephibosheth came to Jerusalem to meet the king," is altogether wrong, and has been very properly given up by modern expositors, inasmuch as it is at variance not only with the word ירד, but also with 2-Samuel 16:3 and 2-Samuel 9:13, where Mephibosheth is said to have lived in Jerusalem.)
David said to him (i.e., to Mephibosheth, who was with the deputation from the capital which welcomed David at the Jordan), "Why wentest thou not with me, Mephibosheth?" David was justified in putting this question after what Ziba had told him concerning Mephibosheth (2-Samuel 16:3).

Jerusalem - Probably he had continued near Jerusalem, because he could not go to meet him, as others did.

*More commentary available at chapter level.


Discussion on 2-Samuel 19:25

User discussion of the verse.






*By clicking Submit, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.