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17. A thousand men. The Benjamites were urgent to impress David that they held no grudge against him and that they welcomed him back as king. After all, the cause of the house of Saul was dead, and there was no hope that any descendant of his would ever again receive the crown of Israel.

Ziba. See ch. 9:2, 9, 10. It was politic for Ziba, too, to be on hand when David returned, for he had by apparent guile received from David all that pertained unto Mephibosheth (ch. 16:1-4), and he knew that the time of reckoning would come (see ch. 19:24-29).

Before the king. Shimei and Ziba were not there because they welcomed David’s return—they feared it, and would far rather have had him remain away. But they knew that they must attempt to make their peace with David or pay the price. They endeavored to make amends not from sincerity, but from necessity.