1 Chronicles 17:18-27

17:18 What more can David say¹ to you? You have honored your servant; you have given your servant special recognition.² 17:19 O Lord, for the sake of your servant and according to your will,³ you have done this great thing in order to reveal your greatness.⁴ 17:20 O Lord, there is none like you; there is no God besides you! What we heard is true!⁵ 17:21 And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation⁶ in the earth? Their God⁷ went to claim⁸ a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deeds⁹ when you drove out¹⁰ nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods.¹¹ 17:22 You made Israel your very own nation for all time.¹² You, O Lord, became their God. 17:23 So now, O Lord, may the promise you made about your servant and his family become a permanent reality!¹³ Do as you promised,¹⁴ 17:24 so¹⁵ it may become a reality¹⁶ and you may gain lasting fame,¹⁷ as people say,¹⁸ ‘The Lord who commands armies is the God of Israel.’¹⁹ David’s dynasty²⁰ will be established before you, 17:25 for you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a dynasty²¹ for him. That is why your servant has had the courage to pray to you.²² 17:26 Now, O Lord, you are the true God;²³ you have made this good promise to your servant.²⁴ 17:27 Now you are willing to bless your servant’s dynasty²⁵ so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Lord, have blessed it and it will be blessed from now on into the future.”²⁶

¹tn The word “say” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

²tn Heb “for honoring your servant, and you, your servant, know.”

³tn Heb “heart.”

⁴tn Heb “to make known all the great deeds.”

⁵tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “in all which we heard with our ears,” but בְּכֹל (bÿkhol, “in all”) should probably be emended to כְּכֹל (kÿkhol, “according to all”).

⁶tn Heb “a nation, one.”

⁷tn 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.

⁸tn Heb “redeem” or “deliver.”

⁹tn Heb “to make for yourself a name [with] great and awesome [deeds].”

¹⁰tn Heb “to drive out.”

¹¹tn Heb “from Egypt, nations.” The parallel text in 2 Sam 7:23 reads “from Egypt, nations and its gods.”

¹²tn Heb “and you made your people Israel your own for a people permanently.”

¹³tn Heb “and now, O Lord, the word which you spoke concerning your servant and concerning his house, may it be established permanently.”

¹⁴tn Heb “as you have spoken.”

¹⁵tn Following the imperative in v. 23b, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result: “so it might become a reality.”

¹⁶tn Heb “so it might be established.”

¹⁷tn Heb “and your name might be great permanently.” Following the imperative in v. 23b, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result (parallel to the previous purpose/result clause): “[so]…you might gain lasting fame.”

¹⁸tn Heb “saying.” The words “as people” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

¹⁹tc Heb “the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], the God of Israel, Israel’s God.” The phrases אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (’elohey yisra’el, “God of Israel”) and אֱלֹהִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל (’elohim lÿyisra’el, “Israel’s God”) are probably alternative readings that have been conflated in the text.

²⁰tn Heb “the house of David.”

²¹tn Heb “house.”

²²tn Heb “That is why your servant found to pray before you.” Perhaps the phrase אֶת לִבּוֹ (’et libbo, “his heart”) should be supplied as the object of the verb “found.”

²³tn Heb “the God.” The article indicates uniqueness here.

²⁴tn Heb “and you have spoken to your servant this good thing.”

²⁵tn Heb “house.”

²⁶tn Heb “for you, O Lord, have blessed and [it is] blessed permanently.”