2 Samuel 7:8-16

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. 7:13 He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent. ¹³  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 ¹⁴  permanently; your dynasty ¹⁵  will be permanent.’”

2 Samuel 7:1

The Lord Establishes a Covenant with David

7:1 The king settled into his palace, ¹⁶  for the Lord gave him relief ¹⁷  from all his enemies on all sides. ¹⁸ 

1 Raja-raja 8:17

8:17 Now my father David had a strong desire ¹⁹  to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel. ²⁰ 

Mazmur 132:1-5

Psalm 132 ²¹ 

A song of ascents. ²² 

132:1 O Lord, for David’s sake remember

all his strenuous effort, ²³ 

132:2 and how he made a vow to the Lord,

and swore an oath to the powerful ruler of Jacob. ²⁴ 

132:3 He said, ²⁵  “I will not enter my own home, ²⁶ 

or get into my bed. ²⁷ 

132:4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep,

or my eyelids to slumber,

132:5 until I find a place for the Lord,

a fine dwelling place ²⁸  for the powerful ruler of Jacob.” ²⁹ 

[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.”

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

[7:16]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “throne.”

[7:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

[7:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “rest.”

[7:1]  ¹⁸ tn The translation understands the disjunctive clause in v. 1b as circumstantial-causal.

[8:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and it was with the heart of David my father.”

[8:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.” The word “name” in the OT sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.

[132:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 132. The psalmist reminds God of David’s devotion and of his promises concerning David’s dynasty and Zion.

[132:1]  ²² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[132:1]  ²³ tn Heb “all his affliction.” This may refer to David’s strenuous and tireless efforts to make provision for the building of the temple (see 1 Chr 22:14). Some prefer to revocalize the text as עַנַוָתוֹ (’anavato, “his humility”).

[132:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.”

[132:3]  ²⁵ tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows is David’s vow.

[132:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the tent of my house.”

[132:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “go up upon the bed of my couch.”

[132:5]  ²⁸ tn The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; David envisions a special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 84:1).

[132:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.”