2 Samuel 9:8

8 Which worshipped him (Who bowed low before him again), and said, Who am I, thy servant, for thou hast beheld on 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 And when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, [the] son of Saul, had come to David, he felled into his face, and worshipped. And David said, Mephibosheth! And he answered, I am present, thy servant. (And when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face, and honoured him. And David said, Mephibosheth! And he answered, I am thy servant.)

7 And David said to him, Dread thou not, for I doing shall do mercy to thee for Jonathan, thy father; and I shall restore to thee all the fields of Saul, thy father, and thou shalt eat bread in my table ever[more]. (And David said to him, Fear not, for I shall do kindness to thee because of thy father Jonathan; and I shall restore to thee all the fields of Saul, thy grandfather, and thou shalt have a place at my table forevermore.)

8 Which worshipped him (Who bowed low before him again), and said, Who am I, thy servant, for thou hast beheld on a dead dog like me?

9 Therefore the king called Ziba, the servant of Saul; and said to him, I have given to the son of thy lord all things, whichever were of Saul, and all the house of him; (And so the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to thy lord's grandson everything that belonged to Saul, and his family;)

10 therefore work thou the land to him, thou, and thy sons, and thy servants, and thou shalt bring in meats to the son of thy lord, that he be fed; but Mephibosheth, the son of thy lord, shall eat ever bread on my board. And fifteen sons and twenty servants were to Ziba. (and so work thou the land for him, thou, and thy sons, and thy servants, and thou shalt bring in the harvest for the family of thy lord, so that they can be fed; but Mephibosheth, the grandson of thy lord, shall have a place at my table forevermore. And Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)