2 Samuel 16:2

And the king said to Ziba, What will these things to themselves? And Ziba answered, My lord the king, the asses be to the menials of the king, that they sit on them; and the loaves and the pressed figs be to thy children to eat; forsooth the wine is, that if any man fail in desert, he (may) drink. (And the king said to Ziba, What doest thou with these things? And Ziba answered, My lord the king, the donkeys be for the king’s menials to sit on; and the loaves and the pressed figs be for thy young men to eat; and the wine, so that if any man feel faint in the wilderness, he hath something to drink.)

Wycliffe Modern Spelling

In The King James Version

And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.

In Context

1And when David had passed a little (by) the top of the hill, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, appeared into his coming, with twain asses, that were charged with two hundred loaves, and with an hundred bundles of dried grapes, and with an hundred gobbets/an hundred pieces of pressed figs, and with two vessels of wine. (And after David had just left the hilltop, Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba appeared before him, with two donkeys that were loaded with two hundred loaves, a hundred bundles of dried grapes, a hundred pieces of pressed figs, and two vessels of wine.)

3And the king said, Where is the son of thy lord? And Ziba answered to the king, He dwelled [still] in Jerusalem, and said, Today the Lord of the house of Israel shall restore to me the realm of my father. (And the king said, Where is the grandson of thy lord? And Ziba answered to the king, He remaineth in Jerusalem, and said, Today the house of Israel shall restore my grandfather’s kingdom to me.)

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Cross References

Genesis 33:8And Esau said, What be these companies, which I met? And Jacob answered, (So) That I should find grace before my lord.

Judges 8:4And when Gideon had come to (the) Jordan, he passed it with three hundred men, that were with him; and for weariness they might not pursue them that fled. (And when Gideon had come to the Jordan River, he crossed over it with the three hundred men who were with him; and for weariness they might not pursue those who had fled before them.)

1 Samuel 14:28And (at once) one of the people answered, and said, Thy father bound the people with an oath, and said, Cursed be the man that eateth bread today (or Cursed be the man who eateth any food today). And (so) the people was faint.

2 Samuel 15:1Therefore after these things, Absalom made a chariot to him, and (had) knights and fifty men, that should go before him. (And so after these things, Absalom got a chariot and horses for himself, and had fifty men who went before him.)

2 Samuel 17:29and honey, and butter, and sheep, and fat calves. And they gave those to David, and to the people that were with him, to eat; for they supposed the people to be made faint for hunger and thirst in desert (or for they knew that the people would be made hungry and thirsty in the wilderness).

Proverbs 31:6Give ye cider to them that mourn, and wine to them that be of bitter soul.

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 16:2-5

Ziba's Calumny. ( b. c. 1023.) 1 And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. 2 And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study 2 Samuel 16:2