Text -- 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 (NET)

God Makes a Promise to David

17:1 When David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under a tent.” 17:2 Nathan said to David, “You should do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you.” 17:3 That night God told Nathan the prophet, 17:4 “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must not build me a house in which to live. 17:5 For I have not lived in a house from the time I brought Israel up from Egypt to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. 17:6 Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, ‘Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?’”’ 17:7 “So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord who commands armies says: “I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you a leader of my people Israel. 17:8 I was with you wherever you went and I defeated all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. 17:9 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle them there; they will live there and not be disturbed anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning 17:10 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. I will subdue all your enemies. “_’"I declare to you that the Lord will build a dynastic house for you! 17:11 When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. 17:12 He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent. 17:13 I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you. 17:14 I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent.”’” 17:15 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:1

¹ tn Heb “house.”

² tn Heb “David.” The pronoun “he” has been used in the translation here to avoid redundancy in keeping with contemporary English style.

³ tn Heb “house.”

⁴ tn Heb “tent curtains.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:2

¹ tn Heb “all which is in your heart.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:3

¹ tn Heb “the word of God was [i.e., came] to Nathan the prophet.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:5

¹ tn The words “from Egypt” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

² tc Heb “and I was from tent to tent and from tabernacle.” The words אֶל־מִשְּׁכָּן (’el-mishÿkan, “to tabernacle”) should probably be added at the end of the sentence to complete this prepositional phrase and produce symmetry with the preceding prepositional phrase. The words probably fell from the text by homoioteleuton.

sn I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. The point here is that the Lord moved with the tabernacle as it moved from place to place; he did not confine himself to a particular location.

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:6

¹ tn In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question (“Did I say?”) meaning “I did not say.”

² tn Heb “to one of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:7

¹ tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.”

² tn Heb “and from after sheep.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:8

¹ tn Heb “cut off.”

² tn Heb “and I will make for you a name like the name of the great men who are in the earth.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:9

¹ tn Heb “plant.”

² tn Heb “shaken.”

³ tn Heb “and sons of violence will no longer consume them as in the beginning.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:10

¹ tn Here the word “house” is used in a metaphorical sense, referring to a royal dynasty. The Lord’s use of the word here plays off the literal sense that David had in mind as he contemplated building a temple (“house”) for the Lord. In the translation the adjective “dynastic” is supplied to indicate that the term is used metaphorically.

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:11

¹ tn Heb “and it will be when your days are full to go with your ancestors.”

² tn Heb “your seed.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:12

¹ tn Heb “and I will establish his throne permanently.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:13

¹ sn The one who ruled before you is a reference to Saul, from whom the kingdom was taken and given to David.

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:14

¹ tn Heb “and his throne will be established permanently.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 17:15

¹ tn Heb “according to all these words and according to all this revelation, so Nathan said to David.”