2 Samuel 19:25
in 2 Samuel 19And he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, who asked him, “Mephibosheth, why did you not go with me?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?
KJV
And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 19
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Besides dyeing it black or red colors, which, however, is the exception, and not the rule in the East, there are various modes of trimming it: they train it into a massy, bushy form, swelling and round; or they terminate it like a pyramid, in a sharp point. Whatever the mode, it is always trimmed with the greatest care; and they usually carry a small comb for the purpose.
This site's exposition
had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard
on 2 Samuel 19:24-25
Mephibosheth's unwashed feet, untrimmed beard and unwashed clothes since the day the king departed are a mourner's signs worn the whole length of David's exile, offered as evidence before he speaks a word in his own defense. Clarke reads the details as refuting Ziba's earlier report at 16:1-4 without David needing to ask a single question. David's first question still assumes Ziba's account was true, asking why Mephibosheth stayed behind rather than why he had mourned so long.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He complained of Ziba, his servant who should have been his friend, but had been in two ways his enemy; for, first, he had hindered him from going along with the king, by taking the ass himself which he was ordered to make ready for his master (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And it came to pass, when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king,....
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֛י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָ֥א | va' | he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| לִקְרַ֣את | likrat | to meet | H7122 → | 139 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לָ֛מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָלַ֥כְתָּ | halakhta | did you go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עִמִּ֖י | ʾimi | with me | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| מְפִיבֹֽשֶׁת׃ | mefivoshet | O Mephibosheth | H4648 → | 18 times |
וַיְהִ֛יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
בָ֥אhe came
va'H935 →2568 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
לִקְרַ֣אתto meet
likratH7122 →139 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לוֹ֙to <the> him
lo
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לָ֛מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָלַ֥כְתָּdid you go
halakhtaH1980 →1546 times
עִמִּ֖יwith me
ʾimiH5973 →1050 times
מְפִיבֹֽשֶׁת׃O Mephibosheth
mefivoshetH4648 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
4 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 16:17“Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:6
Is this how you repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is He not your Father and Creator? Has He not made you and established you?
- Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
- Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
- 2 Samuel 15:32–37
When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.
- Deuteronomy 32:6
About 2 Samuel

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
