2 Samuel 16:3

3 "Where is your master's grandson?" the king asked. "He is still in Jerusalem," Ziba answered the king, "because he thinks that the Israelites are now going to give his grandfather's kingdom back to him."

2 Samuel 16:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 16:3

And the king said, and where [is] thy master's son?
&c.] The son of Saul, who was Ziba's master, meaning Mephibosheth:

and Ziba said unto the king, behold, he abideth at Jerusalem;
as there was reason for it, since he was lame of both his feet, ( 2 Samuel 9:13 ) , though he could have rode upon an ass, and followed the king, as he proposed to do; but his servant deceived him, and carried off the asses to serve a purpose for himself, see ( 2 Samuel 19:26 ) ;

for he said, today shall the house of Israel restore unto me the
kingdom of my father;
his father Saul; which was far from his thoughts; and a most wicked suggestion of his servant to blacken his character, and get his estate from him; nor was there the least probability of the kingdom coming to him, but all the reverse; for let it go how it would with David, Absalom, and not Mephibosheth, stood fair for the kingdom.

2 Samuel 16:3 In-Context

1 When David had passed a short distance beyond the summit, Ziba, Mephibosheth's servant, met him with a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred bunches of raisins, one hundred figs, and a jar of wine.

2 "What is all this for?" the king asked Ziba. "The donkeys are for the royal family to ride," Ziba explained. "The bread and summer fruit are for the young people to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the wilderness."

3 "Where is your master's grandson?" the king asked. "He is still in Jerusalem," Ziba answered the king, "because he thinks that the Israelites are now going to give his grandfather's kingdom back to him."

4 "Look here," the king said to Ziba. "Everything that belonged to Mephibosheth now belongs to you." Ziba said, "I bow out of respect! Please think well of me, my master and king."

5 When King David came to Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. His name was Shimei; he was Gera's son. He was cursing as he came out.