2 Samuel 7:8-12

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 ¹  to make you leader of my people Israel. 7:9 I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated ²  all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. ³  7:10 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle ⁴  them there; they will live there and not be disturbed ⁵  any more. Violent men ⁶  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 ⁷  from all your enemies. The Lord declares ⁸  to you that he himself ⁹  will build a dynastic house ¹⁰  for you. 7:12 When the time comes for you to die, ¹¹  I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, ¹²  and I will establish his kingdom.

2 Samuel 12:7-8

12:7 Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I chose ¹³  you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul. 12:8 I gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your arms. ¹⁴  I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given you so much more as well!

2 Samuel 22:47-51

22:47 The Lord is alive! ¹⁵ 

My protector ¹⁶  is praiseworthy! ¹⁷ 

The God who delivers me ¹⁸  is exalted as king! ¹⁹ 

22:48 The one true God completely vindicates me; ²⁰ 

he makes nations submit to me. ²¹ 

22:49 He delivers me from my enemies; ²² 

you snatch me away ²³  from those who attack me; ²⁴ 

you rescue me from violent men.

22:50 So I will give you thanks, O Lord, before the nations! ²⁵ 

I will sing praises to you. ²⁶ 

22:51 He gives his chosen king magnificent victories; ²⁷ 

he is faithful to his chosen ruler, ²⁸ 

to David and to his descendants forever!”

2 Samuel 22:1

David Sings to the Lord

22:1 ²⁹ David sang ³⁰  to the Lord the words of this song when ³¹  the Lord rescued him from the power ³²  of all his enemies, including Saul. ³³ 

2 Samuel 1:12-14

1:12 They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s people, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.

1:13 David said to the young man who told this to him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner.” ³⁴  1:14 David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

Psalms 78:70-72

78:70 He chose David, his servant,

and took him from the sheepfolds.

78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, ³⁵ 

and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,

and of Israel, his chosen nation. ³⁶ 

78:72 David ³⁷  cared for them with pure motives; ³⁸ 

he led them with skill. ³⁹ 

[7:8]  ¹ tn Heb “and from after the sheep.”

[7:9]  ² tn Heb “cut off.”

[7:9]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “plant.”

[7:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “shaken.”

[7:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sons of violence.”

[7:11]  ⁷ tn Or “rest.”

[7:11]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord.”

[7:11]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb, “when your days are full and you lie down with your ancestors.”

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

[12:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “anointed.”

[12:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the wives of your lord into your chest [or “lap”].” The words “I put” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[22:47]  ¹⁵ tn Elsewhere the construction חַי־יְהוָה (khay-yÿhvah) as used exclusively as an oath formula, but this is not the case here, for no oath follows. Here the statement is an affirmation of the Lord’s active presence and intervention. In contrast to pagan deities, he demonstrates that he is the living God by rescuing and empowering the psalmist.

[22:47]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection.

[22:47]  ¹⁷ tn Or “blessed [i.e., praised] be.”

[22:47]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the God of the rock of my deliverance.” The term צוּר (tsur, “rock”) is probably accidentally repeated from the previous line. The parallel version in Ps 18:46 has simply “the God of my deliverance.”

[22:47]  ¹⁹ tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”) when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 46:10; 57:5, 11).

[22:48]  ²⁰ tn Heb “The God is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun “vengeance” indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication. In the ancient Near East military victory was sometimes viewed as a sign that one’s God had judged in favor of the victor, avenging and/or vindicating him. See, for example, Judg 11:27, 32-33, 36.

[22:48]  ²¹ tn Heb “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”

[22:49]  ²² tn Heb “and [the one who] brings me out from my enemies.”

[22:49]  ²³ tn Heb “you lift me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רוּם (rum) probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt; elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given him victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority.

[22:49]  ²⁴ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[22:50]  ²⁵ sn This probably alludes to the fact that David will praise the Lord in the presence of the defeated nations when they, as his subjects, bring their tribute payments. Ideally God’s chosen king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness. See J. Eaton, Kingship and the Psalms (SBT), 182-85.

[22:50]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to your name.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “Lord,” the primary name of Israel’s covenant God which suggests his active presence with his people (see Exod 3:12-15).

[22:51]  ²⁷ tc The translation follows the Kethib and the ancient versions in reading מַגְדִּיל (magdil, “he magnifies”) rather than the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss of the MT which read מִגְדּוֹל (migdol, “tower”). See Ps 18:50.

[22:51]  ²⁸ tn Heb “[the one who] does loyalty to his anointed one.”

[22:1]  ²⁹ sn In this long song of thanks, David affirms that God is his faithful protector. He recalls in highly poetic fashion how God intervened in awesome power and delivered him from death. His experience demonstrates that God vindicates those who are blameless and remain loyal to him. True to his promises, God gives the king victory on the battlefield and enables him to subdue nations. A parallel version of the song appears in Ps 18.

[22:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “spoke.”

[22:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “in the day,” or “at the time.”

[22:1]  ³² tn Heb “hand.”

[22:1]  ³³ tn Heb “and from the hand of Saul.”

[1:13]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew word used here refers to a foreigner whose social standing was something less than that of native residents of the land, but something more than that of a nonresident alien who was merely passing through.

[78:71]  ³⁵ tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”

[78:71]  ³⁶ tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”

[78:72]  ³⁷ tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[78:72]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”

[78:72]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”