2 Samuel 7:11-16

7:11 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief ¹  from all your enemies. The Lord declares ²  to you that he himself ³  will build a dynastic house ⁴  for you. 7:12 When the time comes for you to die, ⁵  I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, ⁶  and I will establish his kingdom. 7:13 He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent. ⁷  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 ⁸  permanently; your dynasty ⁹  will be permanent.’”

[7:11]  ¹ tn Or “rest.”

[7:11]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord.”

[7:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “house,” but used here in a metaphorical sense, referring to a royal dynasty. Here the Lord’s use of the word plays off the literal sense that David had in mind as he contemplated building a temple for the Lord. To reflect this in the English translation the adjective “dynastic” has been supplied.

[7:12]  ⁵ tn Heb, “when your days are full and you lie down with your ancestors.”

[7:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “your seed after you who comes out from your insides.”

[7:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I will establish the throne of his kingdom permanently.”

[7:16]  ⁸ tc Heb “before you.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read instead “before me,” which makes better sense contextually. (See also the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta.) The MT reading is probably the result of dittography (note the כ [kaf] at the beginning of the next form), with the extra כ then being interpreted as a pronominal suffix.

[7:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “throne.”