The pronoun he at the beginning of this verse refers to Mephibosheth, and this should probably be clarified in translation.

From Jerusalem: the Good News Translation footnote states that the preposition is literally “at” in the Hebrew text; but in fact the Hebrew says only “And when he came Jerusalem.” This seems to indicate that the meeting between Mephibosheth and David took place in Jerusalem rather than during David’s journey back to the capital, but this seems unlikely, since the following events of verses 32-40 are also located at the Jordan River. However, the preposition from is found in a few Greek manuscripts, and this reading is adopted by a wide range of English versions, including even New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, which normally sticks close to the traditional Hebrew text.

Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament argues that the words “to Jerusalem” were originally present in the Hebrew text of verse 24 but were accidentally omitted and then later reinserted in the wrong place. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends the following text of 24b-25: “… until the day he came in peace to Jerusalem. And it came to pass that when he came to meet the king….” That Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives only a {D} rating to this corrected text indicates the considerable uncertainty about determining the original text. Translators should chose between the Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommendation and the text followed by Revised Standard Version.

The question Why did you not go with me…? implies that staying behind in Jerusalem in those circumstances was a sign of disloyalty. This will probably be understood in most languages, but if not, the implied information can be made explicit by saying something like “Mephibosheth, you did not go with me [when I left Jerusalem]. Were you taking your stand with my enemies?”

In some languages it is quite natural to put the name of the person addressed at the end of the question, as Revised Standard Version has done. This is a reflection of the original Hebrew word order. However, in other languages this may be quite unnatural, and the name will have to be placed at the beginning of the question. Translators should feel free to use whichever word order seems most natural in their language.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .