2 Samuel 9:7

And David said unto him, fear not, he was to have no apprehension of losing his life, according to the custom of Oriental monarchs of putting all the members of the former dynasty to death; for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan, thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul, thy father, which had either passed into the possession of the crown or into that of remote kinsmen of Saul; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually, receive his sustenance from the king's bounty. This threefold promise was intended fully to reassure Mephibosheth, whose great misfortunes, the loss of his parents, his lameness, and his poverty, cast a shadow upon his whole life.