2 Samuel 7 
Discovery Box |
7:1 The king settled into his palace, 1 for the Lord gave him relief 2 from all his enemies on all sides. 3 7:2 The king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of God sits in the middle of a tent.” 7:3 Nathan replied to the king, “You should go 4 and do whatever you have in mind, 5 for the Lord is with you.” 7:4 That night the Lord told Nathan, 6 7:5 “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in? 7:6 I have not lived in a house from the time I brought the Israelites up from Egypt to the present day. Instead, I was traveling with them and living in a tent. 7 7:7 Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say 8 to any of the leaders 9 whom I appointed to care for 10 my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?”’
7:8 “So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd 11 to make you leader of my people Israel. 7:9 I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated 12 all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. 13 7:10 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle 14 them there; they will live there and not be disturbed 15 any more. Violent men 16 will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning 7:11 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief 17 from all your enemies. The Lord declares 18 to you that he himself 19 will build a dynastic house 20 for you. 7:12 When the time comes for you to die, 21 I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, 22 and I will establish his kingdom. 7:13 He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent. 23 7:14 I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings. 7:15 But my loyal love will not be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 7:16 Your house and your kingdom will stand before me 24 permanently; your dynasty 25 will be permanent.’” 7:17 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him. 26
7:18 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, 27 that you should have brought me to this point? 7:19 And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family. 28 Is this your usual way of dealing with men, 29 O Lord God? 7:20 What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition, 30 O Lord God! 7:21 For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose 31 you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant. 32 7:22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true! 33 7:23 Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation 34 on the earth? Their God 35 went 36 to claim 37 a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land, 38 before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods. 39 7:24 You made Israel your very own people for all time. 40 You, O Lord, became their God. 7:25 So now, O Lord God, make this promise you have made about your servant and his family a permanent reality. 41 Do as you promised, 42 7:26 so you may gain lasting fame, 43 as people say, 44 ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel!’ The dynasty 45 of your servant David will be established before you, 7:27 for you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have told 46 your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’ 47 That is why your servant has had the courage 48 to pray this prayer to you. 7:28 Now, O sovereign Lord, you are the true God! 49 May your words prove to be true! 50 You have made this good promise to your servant! 51 7:29 Now be willing to bless your servant’s dynasty 52 so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant’s dynasty be blessed on into the future!” 53
[7:1] 1 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
[7:1] 3 tn The translation understands the disjunctive clause in v. 1b as circumstantial-causal.
[7:3] 4
tc Several medieval Hebrew
[7:3] 5 tn Heb “all that is in your heart.”
[7:4] 6
tn Heb “the word of the
[7:6] 7 tn Heb “in a tent and in a dwelling.” The expression is a hendiadys, using two terms to express one idea.
[7:7] 8 tn Heb “Did I speak a word?” In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question.
[7:7] 9 tn Heb “tribes” (so KJV, NASB, NCV), but the parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:6 has “judges.”
[7:7] 10 tn Heb “whom I commanded to shepherd” (so NIV, NRSV).
[7:8] 11 tn Heb “and from after the sheep.”
[7:9] 13 tn Heb “and I will make for you a great name like the name of the great ones who are in the earth.”
[7:10] 16 tn Heb “the sons of violence.”
[7:11] 18 tn In the Hebrew text the verb is apparently perfect with vav consecutive, which would normally suggest a future sense (“he will declare”; so the LXX, ἀπαγγελεῖ [apangelei]). But the context seems instead to call for a present or past nuance (“he declares” or “he has declared”). The synoptic passage in 1 Chr 17:10 has וָאַגִּד (va’aggid, “and I declared”). The construction used in 2 Sam 7:11 highlights this important statement.
[7:11] 20
tn Heb “house,” but used here in a metaphorical sense, referring to a royal dynasty. Here the
[7:12] 21 tn Heb, “when your days are full and you lie down with your ancestors.”
[7:12] 22 tn Heb “your seed after you who comes out from your insides.”
[7:13] 23 tn Heb “and I will establish the throne of his kingdom permanently.”
[7:16] 24
tc Heb “before you.” A few medieval Hebrew
[7:17] 26 tn Heb “according to all these words and according to all this revelation, so Nathan said to David.”
[7:19] 28
tn Heb “and this was small in your eyes, O
[7:19] 29 tn Heb “and this [is] the law of man”; KJV “is this the manner of man, O Lord God?”; NAB “this too you have shown to man”; NRSV “May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!” This part of the verse is very enigmatic; no completely satisfying solution has yet been suggested. The present translation tries to make sense of the MT by understanding the phrase as a question that underscores the uniqueness of God’s dealings with David as described here. The parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:17 reads differently (see the note there).
[7:20] 30 tn Heb “and you know your servant.” The verb here refers to recognizing another in a special way and giving them special treatment (see 1 Chr 17:18). Some English versions take this to refer to the Lord’s knowledge of David himself: CEV “you know my thoughts”; NLT “know what I am really like.”
[7:21] 31 tn Heb “for the sake of your word and according to your heart.”
[7:21] 32 tn Heb “to make known, your servant.”
[7:22] 33 tn Heb “in all which we heard with our ears.” The phrase translated “in all” בְּכֹל (bÿkhol) should probably be emended to “according to all” כְּכֹל (kÿkhol).
[7:23] 34 tn Heb “a nation, one.”
[7:23] 35 tn Heb “whose God” or “because God.” In the Hebrew text this clause is subordinated to what precedes. The clauses are separated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:23] 36 tn The verb is plural in Hebrew, agreeing grammatically with the divine name, which is a plural of degree.
[7:23] 38 tn Heb “and to do for you [plural form] the great [thing] and awesome [things] for your land.”
[7:23] 39 tn Heb “from Egypt, nations and their gods.” The LXX has “nations and tents,” which reflects a mistaken metathesis of letters in אֶלֹהָיו (e’lohav, “its gods”) and אֹהָלָיו (’ohalav, “its tents”).
[7:24] 40 tn Heb “and you established for yourself your people Israel for yourself for a people permanently.”
[7:25] 41
tn Heb “and now, O
[7:25] 42 tn Heb “as you have spoken.”
[7:26] 43 tn Heb “and your name might be great permanently.” Following the imperative in v. 23b, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.
[7:26] 44 tn Heb “saying.” The words “as people” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
[7:26] 45 tn Heb “the house.” See the note on “dynastic house” in the following verse.
[7:27] 46 tn Heb “have uncovered the ear of.”
[7:27] 47 tn Heb “a house.” This maintains the wordplay from v. 11 (see the note on the word “house” there) and is continued in v. 29.
[7:27] 48 tn Heb “has found his heart.”
[7:28] 49 tn Heb “the God.” The article indicates uniqueness here.
[7:28] 50 tn The translation understands the prefixed verb form as a jussive, indicating David’s wish/prayer. Another option is to take the form as an imperfect and translate “your words are true.”
[7:28] 51 tn Heb “and you have spoken to your servant this good thing.”
[7:29] 52 tn Heb “house” (again later in this verse). See the note on “dynastic house” in v. 27.
[7:29] 53 tn Or “permanently”; cf. NLT “it is an eternal blessing.”
