1 Chronicles 17:4-10

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 ¹  to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. ²  17:6 Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not say ³  to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, ⁴  ‘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 ⁵  says: “I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd ⁶  to make you a leader of my people Israel. 17:8 I was with you wherever you went and I defeated ⁷  all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. ⁸  17:9 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle ⁹  them there; they will live there and not be disturbed ¹⁰  anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning ¹¹  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 ¹²  for you!

1 Chronicles 17:2

17:2 Nathan said to David, “You should do whatever you have in mind, ¹³  for God is with you.”

1 Chronicles 7:5-11

7:5 Altogether the genealogical records of the clans of Issachar listed 87,000 warriors. ¹⁴ 

Benjamin’s Descendants

7:6 The sons of Benjamin: ¹⁵ 

Bela, Beker, and Jediael – three in all.

7:7 The sons of Bela:

Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. The five of them were leaders of their families. There were 22,034 warriors listed in their genealogical records.

7:8 The sons of Beker:

Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alameth. All these were the sons of Beker. 7:9 There were 20,200 family leaders and warriors listed in their genealogical records.

7:10 The son ¹⁶  of Jediael:

Bilhan.

The sons of Bilhan:

Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 7:11 All these were the sons of Jediael. Listed in their genealogical records were 17,200 family leaders and warriors who were capable of marching out to battle.

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.

³ tn In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question (“Did I say?”) meaning “I did not say.”

⁴ tn Heb “to one of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people.”

⁵ tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.”

⁶ tn Heb “and from after sheep.”

⁷ tn Heb “cut off.”

⁸ tn Heb “and I will make for you a name like the name of the great men who are in the earth.”

⁹ tn Heb “plant.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “shaken.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and sons of violence will no longer consume them as in the beginning.”

¹² 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.

¹³ tn Heb “all which is in your heart.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and their brothers, according to all the clans of Issachar, the warriors [were] 87,000 listed in the genealogical records for all.”

¹⁵ tc The Hebrew text has simply “Benjamin,” but בְּנֵי (bÿney, “sons of”) has dropped out by haplography (בְּנֵי בִּנְיָמִן, bÿney binyamin).

¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text has the plural “sons,” but only one son is listed.