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2 Samuel 7:18-29
New English Translation

David Offers a Prayer to God

18 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family,[a] that you should have brought me to this point? 19 And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family.[b] Is this your usual way of dealing with men,[c] O Sovereign Lord? 20 What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition,[d] O Sovereign Lord! 21 For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose[e] you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant.[f] 22 Therefore you are great, O Sovereign Lord, for there is none like you. There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true.[g] 23 Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation[h] on the earth? Their God[i] went[j] to claim[k] a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land,[l] before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods.[m] 24 You made Israel your very own people for all time.[n] You, O Lord, became their God. 25 So now, O Lord God, make this promise you have made about your servant and his family a permanent reality.[o] Do as you promised,[p] 26 so you may gain lasting fame,[q] as people say,[r] ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over Israel!’ The dynasty[s] of your servant David will be established before you, 27 for you, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, have told[t] your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’[u] That is why your servant has had the courage[v] to pray this prayer to you. 28 Now, O Sovereign Lord, you are the true God.[w] May your words prove to be true![x] You have made this good promise to your servant.[y] 29 Now be willing to bless your servant’s dynasty[z] so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant’s dynasty be blessed from now on into the future!”[aa]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 7:18 tn Heb “house.”
  2. 2 Samuel 7:19 tn Heb “and this was small in your eyes, O Lord God, so you spoke concerning the house of your servant for a distance.”
  3. 2 Samuel 7:19 tn Heb “and this [is] the law of man”; KJV “is this the manner of man, O Lord God?”; NAB “this too you have shown to man”; NRSV “May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!” This part of the verse is very enigmatic; no completely satisfying solution has yet been suggested. The present translation tries to make sense of the MT by understanding the phrase as a question that underscores the uniqueness of God’s dealings with David as described here. The parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:17 reads differently (see the note there).
  4. 2 Samuel 7:20 tn Heb “and you know your servant.” The verb here refers to recognizing another in a special way and giving them special treatment (see 1 Chr 17:18). Some English versions take this to refer to the Lord’s knowledge of David himself: CEV “you know my thoughts”; NLT “know what I am really like.”
  5. 2 Samuel 7:21 tn Heb “for the sake of your word and according to your heart.”
  6. 2 Samuel 7:21 tn Heb “to make known, your servant.”
  7. 2 Samuel 7:22 tn Heb “in all which we heard with our ears.” The phrase translated “in all” בְּכֹל (bekhol) should probably be emended to “according to all” כְּכֹל (kekhol).
  8. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “a nation, one.”
  9. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn 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.
  10. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn The verb is plural in Hebrew, agreeing grammatically with the divine name, which is a plural of degree.
  11. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “redeem.”
  12. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “and to do for you [plural form] the great [thing] and awesome [things] for your land.”
  13. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “from Egypt, nations and their gods.” The LXX has “nations and tents,” which reflects a mistaken metathesis of letters in אֶלֹהָיו (ʾelohayv, “its gods”) and אֹהָלָיו (ʾohalayv, “its tents”).
  14. 2 Samuel 7:24 tn Heb “and you established for yourself your people Israel for yourself for a people permanently.”
  15. 2 Samuel 7:25 tn Heb “and now, O Lord God, the word which you spoke concerning your servant and concerning his house, establish permanently.”
  16. 2 Samuel 7:25 tn Heb “as you have spoken.”
  17. 2 Samuel 7:26 tn Heb “and your name might be great permanently.” Following the imperative in v. 23b, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.
  18. 2 Samuel 7:26 tn Heb “saying.” The words “as people” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
  19. 2 Samuel 7:26 tn Heb “the house.” See the note on “dynastic house” in the following verse.
  20. 2 Samuel 7:27 tn Heb “have uncovered the ear of.”
  21. 2 Samuel 7:27 tn Heb “a house.” This maintains the wordplay from v. 11 (see the note on the word “house” there) and is continued in v. 29.
  22. 2 Samuel 7:27 tn Heb “has found his heart.”
  23. 2 Samuel 7:28 tn Heb “the God.” The article indicates uniqueness here.
  24. 2 Samuel 7:28 tn The translation understands the prefixed verb form as a jussive, indicating David’s wish/prayer. Another option is to take the form as an imperfect and translate “your words are true.”
  25. 2 Samuel 7:28 tn Heb “and you have spoken to your servant this good thing.”
  26. 2 Samuel 7:29 tn Heb “house” (again later in this verse). See the note on “dynastic house” in v. 27.
  27. 2 Samuel 7:29 tn Or “permanently”; cf. NLT “it is an eternal blessing.”
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