The Meaning of 2 Samuel 9:7 Explained

2 Samuel 9:7

KJV: And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

YLT: And David saith to him, 'Be not afraid; for I certainly do with thee kindness because of Jonathan thy father, and have given back to thee all the field of Saul thy father, and thou dost eat bread at my table continually.'

Darby: And David said to him, Fear not; for I will certainly shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

ASV: And David said unto him, Fear not; for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And David  said  unto him, Fear  not: for I will surely  shew  thee kindness  for Jonathan  thy father's  sake, and will restore  thee all the land  of Saul  thy father;  and thou shalt eat  bread  at my table  continually. 

What does 2 Samuel 9:7 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 9:1-13 - Kindness For Jonathan's Sake
This poor cripple at Lodebar never supposed that David would show him favor. Did he not belong to the rejected house of Saul? What could he expect from one whom his grandfather had hunted like a partridge on the mountains? Besides, his lameness made him unfit for court-life. We, like him, are the children of an apostate race; we have neither beauty nor worth to commend us. We may class together those two sentences: "What is thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?" and, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord," 2 Samuel 9:8 and Luke 5:8.
But Mephibosheth had been included in a covenant. He might be unaware of it, but David could not forget, 1 Samuel 20:14-16. For the sake of the beloved Jonathan, David treated his son as a blood-relation. Nothing in the course of events could alter the sacred word that David had sworn to his departed friend. Our own case is similar. We were chosen in Christ before the world began, predestined to be sons, included in the covenant between the Father and our Surety. Let us join with Paul in Ephesians 1:3. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 9

1  David by Ziba sends for Mephibosheth
7  For Jonathan's sake he restores to him all that was Saul's
9  He makes Ziba his farmer

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 9:7 mean?

so said to him David not do fear for surely I will show you kindness for sake Jonathan of your father and will restore to you - all the land of Saul your grandfather and you shall eat bread at my table continually
וַיֹּאמֶר֩ ל֨וֹ דָוִ֜ד אַל־ תִּירָ֗א כִּ֣י עָשֹׂה֩ אֶעֱשֶׂ֨ה עִמְּךָ֥ חֶ֙סֶד֙ בַּֽעֲבוּר֙ יְהוֹנָתָ֣ן אָבִ֔יךָ וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֣י לְךָ֔ אֶֽת־ כָּל־ שְׂדֵ֖ה שָׁא֣וּל אָבִ֑יךָ וְאַתָּ֗ה תֹּ֥אכַל לֶ֛חֶם עַל־ שֻׁלְחָנִ֖י תָּמִֽיד

וַיֹּאמֶר֩  so  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
ל֨וֹ  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
דָוִ֜ד  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
תִּירָ֗א  do  fear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: יָרֵא 
Sense: to fear, revere, be afraid.
עָשֹׂה֩  surely 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
אֶעֱשֶׂ֨ה  I  will  show 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
חֶ֙סֶד֙  kindness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
בַּֽעֲבוּר֙  for  sake 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲבוּר  
Sense: for the sake of, on account of, because of, in order to conj.
יְהוֹנָתָ֣ן  Jonathan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהֹונָתָן  
Sense: a son of king Saul and a friend of David.
אָבִ֔יךָ  of  your  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֣י  and  will  restore 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
לְךָ֔  to  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
אֶֽת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שְׂדֵ֖ה  the  land 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
שָׁא֣וּל  of  Saul 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאוּל  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Kish, and the st king of Israel.
אָבִ֑יךָ  your  grandfather 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וְאַתָּ֗ה  and  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, second person masculine singular
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
תֹּ֥אכַל  shall  eat 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
לֶ֛חֶם  bread 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
עַל־  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
שֻׁלְחָנִ֖י  my  table 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: שֻׁלְחָן  
Sense: table.
תָּמִֽיד  continually 
Parse: Adverb
Root: תָּמִיד  
Sense: continuity, perpetuity, to stretch.