2 Samuel 19:24

Good News Translation

Then Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, came down to meet the king. He had not washed his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the time the king left Jerusalem until he returned victorious.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.

Hebrew Names Version
Mefivoshet the son of Sha'ul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in shalom.

King James Version
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.

Lexham English Bible
Now, Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet nor trimmed his moustache nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came back in peace.

English Standard Version
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety.

New Century Version
Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, also went down to meet King David. Mephibosheth had not cared for his feet, cut his beard, or washed his clothes from the time the king had left Jerusalem until he returned safely.

New English Translation
Now Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, came down to meet the king. From the day the king had left until the day he safely returned, Mephibosheth had not cared for his feet nor trimmed his mustache nor washed his clothes.

Amplified Bible
Then Mephibosheth the [grand]son of Saul came down to meet the king, but he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned in peace and safety.

New American Standard Bible
Then Mephibosheth the grandson of Saul came down to meet the king; but he had neither tended to his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes since the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Mephibosheth the sonne of Saul came downe to meete the king, and had neither washed his feete, nor dressed his beard, nor washed his clothes from the time the king departed, vntill he returned in peace.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul had come down to meet the king; and he had not done anything for his feet, nor done anything for his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.

Contemporary English Version
Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul, also came to meet David. He had missed David so much that he had not taken a bath or trimmed his beard or washed his clothes the whole time David was gone.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then the king said to Shim‘i, "You will not be put to death," and the king swore it to him.

Darby Translation
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. Now he had neither washed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came [again] in peace.

Easy-to-Read Version
Saul's grandson, Mephibosheth, came down to meet King David. Mephibosheth had not cared for his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem.

George Lamsa Translation
And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king, and he had neither trimmed his beard nor changed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day the king came again in peace.

Literal Translation
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul had come down to meet the king. And he had not dressed his feet, nor had shaved his upper lip. Yea, he had not washed his garment, even from the day that he went away till the day that he came in peace.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Mephiboseth the sonne of Saul came downe also to mete the kynge. And he had not made cleane his fete ner combde his beerde, nether had he waßshed his clothes from the daye that the kynge was gone awaye, vntyll the daye that he came agayne in peace.

American Standard Version
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.

Bible in Basic English
And Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son, came down for the purpose of meeting the king; his feet had not been cared for or his hair cut or his clothing washed from the day when the king went away till the day when he came back in peace.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Miphiboseth the sonne of Saul came downe to meete the kyng, and had neither washed his feete, nor dressed his bearde, nor washed his clothes, from the tyme the kyng departed, vntyll he came againe in peace.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the king said unto Shimei: 'Thou shalt not die.' And the king swore unto him.

King James Version (1611)
And Mephibosheth the sonne of Saul came downe to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feete, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the King departed, vntill the day hee came againe in peace.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Memphibosthe the son of Saul’s son went down to meet the king, and had not dressed his feet, nor pared his nails, nor shaved himself, neither had he washed his garments, from the day that the king departed, until the day when he arrived in peace.

English Revised Version
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king had left until the day he returned safely.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also Myphibosech, sone of Jonathas, sone of Saul, cam doun with vnwaischun feet, and with berd vnclippid, in to the comyng of the kyng. And Mysphibosech hadde not waische hise clothis, fro the dai in which the kyng yede out of Jerusalem til to the dai of his turnyng ayen in pees.

Young's Literal Translation
And Mephibosheth son of Saul hath come down to meet the king -- and he prepared not his feet, nor did he prepare his upper lip, yea, his garments he washed not, even from the day of the going away of the king, till the day that he came in peace --

Update Bible Version
And Mephibaal the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace to Jerusalem.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came [again] in peace.

World English Bible
Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.

New King James Version
Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace.

New Living Translation
Now Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, came down from Jerusalem to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since the day the king left Jerusalem.

New Life Bible
Then Saul's grandson Mephibosheth came down to meet the king. He had not dressed his feet, trimmed the hair of his face, or washed his clothes, from the day the king left until the day he returned in peace.

New Revised Standard
Mephibosheth grandson of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet, or trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes, from the day the king left until the day he came back in safety.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, Mephibosheth, son of Saul, came down to meet the king, - he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor, his clothes, had he washed, from the day the king departed, until the day that he entered in peace.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Miphiboseth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and he had neither washed his feet, nor trimmed his beard: nor washed his garments from the day that the king went out, until the day of his return in peace.

Revised Standard Version
And Mephib'osheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety.

THE MESSAGE
Next Mephibosheth grandson of Saul arrived from Jerusalem to welcome the king. He hadn't combed his hair or trimmed his beard or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safe and sound. The king said, "And why didn't you come with me, Mephibosheth?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace.

Contextual Overview

²⁴ Then Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, came down to meet the king. He had not washed his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the time the king left Jerusalem until he returned victorious. ²⁵ When Mephibosheth arrived from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, "Mephibosheth, you didn't go with me. Why not?" ²⁶ He answered, "As you know, Your Majesty, I am crippled. I told my servant to saddle my donkey so that I could ride along with you, but he betrayed me. ²⁷ He lied about me to Your Majesty, but you are like God's angel, so do what seems right to you. ²⁸ All of my father's family deserved to be put to death by Your Majesty, but you gave me the right to eat at your table. I have no right to ask for any more favors from Your Majesty." ²⁹ The king answered, "You don't have to say anything more. I have decided that you and Ziba will share Saul's property." ³⁰ "Let Ziba have it all," Mephibosheth answered. "It's enough for me that Your Majesty has come home safely."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Mephibosheth: 2 Samuel 9:6, 2 Samuel 16:3

dressed his feet: Literally, made his feet, which seems to mean washing the feet paring the nails, and perhaps anointing or otherwise perfuming them, if not tinging the nails with henna; see note on Deuteronomy 21:12. Sir John Chardin, in his manuscript note on this place, informs us, that it is customary in the East to have as much care of the feet as the hands; and that their barbers cut and adjust the nails with a proper instrument, because they often go barefoot. The nails of the toes of the mummies inspected in London in 1763, of which an account is given in the Philosophical Transactions for 1764, seem to have been tinged with some reddish colour. 2 Samuel 15:30, Isaiah 15:2, Jeremiah 41:5, Matthew 6:16, Romans 12:15, Hebrews 13:3

trimmed: Literally, made his beard, which may mean, combing, curling, and perfuming it. But Mr. Morier says that they almost universally dye the beard black, by successive layers of a paste made of henna, and another made of the leaf of the indigo: the first tinging with an orange colour, and the next with a dark bottle green, which becomes jet black when exposed to the air for twenty-four hours.

Reciprocal: Genesis 28:21 - I come Genesis 41:14 - he shaved Exodus 33:4 - and no 1 Chronicles 8:34 - Meribbaal Proverbs 18:13 - that Proverbs 18:17 - General Proverbs 27:10 - own Ecclesiastes 9:8 - thy garments Daniel 6:18 - and passed Daniel 10:3 - neither did

Cross-References

Genesis 19:23
The sun was rising when Lot reached Zoar.

Genesis 19:24
Suddenly the Lord rained burning sulfur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 19:28
He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a huge furnace.

Genesis 19:29
But when God destroyed the cities of the valley where Lot was living, he kept Abraham in mind and allowed Lot to escape to safety.

Job 18:15
Now anyone may live in their tents— after sulfur is sprinkled to disinfect them!

Psalms 11:6
He sends down flaming coals and burning sulfur on the wicked; he punishes them with scorching winds.

Isaiah 1:9
If the Lord Almighty had not let some of the people survive, Jerusalem would have been totally destroyed, just as Sodom and Gomorrah were.

Isaiah 13:19
Babylonia is the most beautiful kingdom of all; it is the pride of its people. But I, the Lord , will overthrow Babylon as I did Sodom and Gomorrah!

Jeremiah 20:16
May he be like those cities that the Lord destroyed without mercy. May he hear cries of pain in the morning and the battle alarm at noon,

Jeremiah 49:18
The same thing will happen to Edom that happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, when they and the nearby towns were destroyed. No one will ever live there again. I, the Lord , have spoken.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king,.... Not down to Jordan, but Jerusalem; when the king was come thither, he came from his own dwelling to the king's palace; he is called the son of Saul, though he was his grandson, and grandsons are sometimes called sons; though in the Septuagint it is, the son's son of Saul; and the Syriac and Arabic versions are, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul:

and had neither dressed his feet; had not cut his nails, as the Septuagint adds, his toenails; or rather had not washed his feet, as the Targum paraphrases it; which was frequently done in those countries, partly for refreshment, and partly to remove the filth of them contracted by walking barefooted, or only with sandals; as also because of the ill smell of them, which was offensive:

nor trimmed his beard; or shaved his upper lip, and took no care that the hair of his chin should be in any order; otherwise that was never shaved, to do it would be contrary to the law in Leviticus 19:27;

nor washed his clothes; his linen clothes, his shirts, or any other that used to be washed; or "whitened" them, as the Targum, he had not sent them, his woollen clothes, to the fuller, to get out the spots, and whiten them. All these were tokens of mourning, and showed him to be a sincere mourner for the king's departure, and the trouble he was in, since it was so long continued:

from the day the king departed, until the day he came [again] in peace; which must be a considerable time, and therefore he must be in a most sordid and rueful condition.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Beard - The “moustache,” the beard of the upper lip. The fact related in this verse tends to clear Mephibosheth from the suspicion of unfaithfulness to David.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 19:24. Neither dressed his feet — He had given the fullest proof of his sincere attachment to David and his cause; and by what he had done, amply refuted the calumnies of his servant Ziba.