Dafite na Mefibosheti
1 Limwe zhuba Dafite kabhuzwa eti, “Apa kutjina mmwe utjimpenyu we ng'umba ya Saulo kene? Ha alipo ndowonthamila lubu ngekwa Jonatani.”
2 Ipapo kukabe kuna nlanda we ng'umba ya Saulo wakabe edang'wa kuyi Ziba, kadanigwa mbeli kwa Dafite. Mambo bakambhuzwa bakati, “Ndiwe Ziba?”
Kadabila eti, “Ndimi nlanda wenyu.”
3 Mambo bakabhuzwa kakale bakati, “Apa kutjina mmwe utjimpenyu we ng'umba ya Saulo wandinga lakidza ngoni dze Ndzimu kene?”
Ziba kadabila mambo eti, “Nkololo wa Jonatani utjimpenyu, tjilema makumbo wose.”
4 Mambo bakambhuzwa bakati, “Ungayi?”
Ziba kadabila mambo eti, “Uku ng'umba ya Makiri nkololo wa Amiele ku Lodeba.” 5 Ndizo Mambo Dafite bakatumila nthu kunontola kudwa ku ng'umba ya Makiri nkololo wa Amiele ku Lodeba.
6 Mefibosheti nkololo wa Jonatani, mwana we mwana wa Saulo kazha kuna Dafite, kakotamisa nsholo nge kuzwiyisa pasi. Dafite kan'dana kati, “Mefibosheti!” Kadabila kati, “Tetshi, nlanda wenyu upano.”
7 Dafite kandwa kati, “Usitje, ndowokuthamila buthu ngekwa tate babo Jonatani, ndowokubgwilizila shango yose yakabe ili ya batategulu babo Saulo, ngono iwe ngekuko unowoja pa tafuli yangu misi yose.”
8 Mefibosheti kakotamisa nsholo kati, “Apa imi nlanda wenyu ndini, kwamungadzina mukayitila hanya mbgwa yakafa sami kene?” 9 Ndizo mambo bakadana Ziba nlanda wa Saulo, bakandwa bakati, “Kose kwakabe kuli kwa Saulo ne ng'umba iye yose ndakupa mwana we mwana wa tetshi uwo. 10 Iwe ne bakololo babo ne balanda babo mowonlimila nnda, mubuya muvuna munzhisila zojiwa. Kuti ndizo mwana we mwana wa tetshi uwo awane tjinojiwa, koga Mefibosheti mwana we mwana wa tetshi uwo unowoja pa tafuli yangu misi yose.” Ziba wakabe ana bakololo bali gumi lina bashanu (15) ne balanda bali makumi mabili (20).
11 Ziba kadabila mambo eti, “Nlanda wenyu unoshinga zose zwa adwiwa ndi tetshi wangu mambo.”
Mefibosheti kajila pa tafuli ya Dafite se mmwe we bakololo ba mambo. 12 Mefibosheti wakabe ana nkololo ntjetjana we zina linoyi Mika. Ngono bose bakabe begala mu ng'umba ya Ziba bakabe balanda ba Mefibosheti. 13 Mefibosheti wakabe egala mu Jerusalema, egala ejila pa tafuli ya mambo, koga wakabe ali tjilema makumbo wose.
David Is Kind to Mephibosheth
1 One day, David thought, “I wonder if any of Saul's family are still alive. If they are, I will be kind to them, because I made a promise to Jonathan.” 2 David called in Ziba, one of the servants of Saul's family. David said, “So you are Ziba.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I am.”
3 David asked, “Are any of Saul's family still alive? If there are, I want to be kind to them.”
Ziba answered, “One of Jonathan's sons is still alive, but he can't walk.”
4 “Where is he?” David asked.
Ziba replied, “He lives in Lo-Debar with Machir the son of Ammiel.”
5-6 David sent some servants to bring Jonathan's son from Lo-Debar. His name was Mephibosheth, and he was the grandson of Saul. He came to David and knelt down.
David asked, “Are you Mephibosheth?”
“Yes, I am, Your Majesty.”
7 David said, “Don't be afraid. I'll be kind to you because Jonathan was your father. I'm going to give you back the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul. Besides that, you will always eat with me at my table.”
8 Mephibosheth knelt down again and said, “Why should you care about me? I'm worth no more than a dead dog.”
9 David called in Ziba, Saul's chief servant, and told him, “Since Mephibosheth is Saul's grandson, I've given him back everything that belonged to your master Saul and his family. 10 You and your 15 sons and 20 servants will work for Mephibosheth. You will farm his land and bring in his crops, so that Saul's family and servants will have food. But Mephibosheth will always eat with me at my table.”
11-13 Ziba replied, “Your Majesty, I will do exactly what you tell me to do.” So Ziba's family and servants worked for Mephibosheth.
Mephibosheth was lame, but he lived in Jerusalem and ate at David's table, just like one of David's own sons. And he had a young son of his own, named Mica.