2 Samuel 9:8

8 Mephibosheth bowed low out of respect and said, "Who am I, your servant, that you should care about a dead dog like me?"

2 Samuel 9:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 9:8

And he bowed himself
In token of gratitude, and as a sign of humility, and of the sense he had of his unworthiness to enjoy such a favour:

and said, what [is] thy servant, that thou shouldest look on such a
dead dog as I [am]?
one so mean, and base, and worthless; which he might say with respect to the infirmities of his body, the rejection of his family by the Lord, their attainder of high treason for rebellion against David, and the low circumstances he was brought into and now under; though one of the royal family, the son of a prince, and grandson of a king; such was his humility, and the sense he had of his being undeserving of any favour from the king, and says this with admiration and astonishment.

2 Samuel 9:8 In-Context

6 Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson, came to David, and he fell to the ground, bowing low out of respect. "Mephibosheth?" David said. "Yes," he replied. "I am at your service!"

7 "Don't be afraid," David told him, "because I will certainly show you faithful love for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the fields of your grandfather Saul, and you will eat at my table always."

8 Mephibosheth bowed low out of respect and said, "Who am I, your servant, that you should care about a dead dog like me?"

9 Then David summoned Saul's servant Ziba and said to him, "I have given your master's grandson everything belonging to Saul and his family.

10 You will work the land for him—you, your sons, and your servants—and you will bring food into your master's house for them to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, will always be at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)