Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 20 Mar 2021
Love enjoys entering in to another person’s joy and facilitating it. There is a certain mutual pleasure in egging-on someone you love, to do the very thing they love doing.
For instance, when your favorite football team completes a pass to the wide receiver and he goes running down the field for all he’s worth toward the goal line with that football tucked under his arm, we enjoy standing up and cheering him on, and the roar of our cheering spikes his adrenaline to run even faster, and together we enjoy an adrenaline high as he makes winning points for our team.
Or when your favorite singer or musician in a concert takes off on a solo, and together you get lost in the excitement of the moment of true virtuosity being displayed and the enjoyment of what that sounds like.
God made us to be able to enjoy that kind of mutual experience because we are made in His image. Even though He does not share all our sinful insecurities and lusts and prides, He made us to be able to enter into the joy of who He is and the excitement of what He is doing and to experience the rush of cheering Him on, and He takes pleasure in the fact that we are enjoying that. God enjoys us enjoying Him!
John Piper famously summarized this principle by saying, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”
David, in this passage, shows us the way to do that in our prayer life!
Read my translation of 2 Sam. 7, starting at v.18: Then David the King went and sat down before the presence of Yahweh and said, “Who am I, my Lord Yahweh? And what is my house that You should bring me to this point? And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, my Lord Yahweh. Furthermore, You have spoken also concerning the dynasty of Your servant being for some distance out, and this has become instruction for mankind, my Lord Yahweh! And what more can David add to say to You? For, as for You, You have known Your servant, my Lord Yahweh. On account of Your word, and according to Your heart, You did all this great stuff in order to make it known to Your servant. Therefore, You are great, my Lord Yahweh, for there is none like You, and there is no god besides You among all that we’ve heard about with our ears! And what single nation on earth is like Your people Israel, to whom God went to redeem to be a people for Himself, and to make a name for Himself and to do great and fearsome stuff by expelling nations and {nomads} in front of Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself out of Egypt? Now, You have established Your people Israel for Yourself to be a people for ever, and it is You, Yahweh, who belong to them as God. So now, Yahweh God, cause to establish for ever the word which You spoke over Your servant and over his house, and do exactly what You said! So Your reputation will increase for-ever by saying, ‘Yahweh of Army-hosts is God over Israel!’ when the house of your servant David has been established before Your face. For it is You, Yahweh of Army-hosts – God of Israel – who caused it to be revealed to the ear of Your servant saying, ‘I will build a dynasty for you.’ Therefore your servant has found his courage to pray this prayer to You! So now, my Lord Yahweh, You are the one – the God, and your words are true, and you have spoken to your servant this good thing, so now, give Your consent and bless the household of Your servant so that it may forever be before Your face, for it is You, my Lord Yahweh who have spoken, and because of Your blessing, the household of Your servant will be blessed forever!”
Let me highlight five things in David’s prayer that we can imitate in our own prayer life:
7x throughout this prayer David refers to God as “my master Yahweh” (or “O Lord GOD”).
Why does he do that? I suggest it is a way to remind himself of the nature of his personal relationship with God.
Even though David is a king, he is still a servant in relationship to God, so he calls Him “Adonai/Master/Lord,”
He also claims personal relationship with this Lord by calling Him “my Lord” with the first person pronoun in Hebrew (unfortunately translated “O” in most English Bibles). God is not just “a lord,” He is “My master” with jurisdictional authority over me and personal responsibility to take care of me.
Then David calls this Master, that he claims as his own, by His personal name: “Yahweh,” which is symbolized by the word “GOD” in all capitol letters in most English Bibles. God is not an idea or an object; He is a person to be related to personally.
When we come before God in prayer, are we thinking about our relationship with Him and expressing that in our words like “my master Jesus,” or are we just asking for favors from “the man upstairs”?
Can you imagine what it would feel like for God to say that He would build a dynasty from you and your household and make them reign as kings forever! And, think of it, David was the one king on the entire planet who had the special presence of the one true God in his capitol city!
Would you say, “Uh, I don’t feel like my family is that sort of family, and for that matter, I don’t feel like that sort of person. Why pick me and my family?”
David comments in v.19 on how remarkable it is that God would promise for the kingship to remain in his house for ever, he says, in effect, “that’s a long time1!”
David does not express any entitlement before God, as though he deserved this exalted position.
“God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble” (James 4).
A humble heart expresses wonder at blessings because it doesn’t feel deserving, whereas a proud heart says, “Well, it’s about time I finally get recognized!”
He ends verse 19 with a comment that is somewhat cryptic but nevertheless seems to indicate that he didn’t feel deserving of God’s blessings:
Some English versions translate it as a statement: “This is the law/custom of Man” (Douay, NASB2), implying that God chose to make a kingly dynasty out of David because that’s what the world expected of kings.
Older English versions render it as a question: “Is this the law/manner of man?” (Brenton, KJV3) The implied answer is “No. This isn’t the way humans do it; God does things so much more graciously and permanently than humans do.”
Some of the oldest commentators I read (Martin Luther and Andrew Willett) understood the “man” in this phrase to refer to Christ. In other words, such gracious blessing is just par-for-the-course for “The Man” Jesus the Messiah. This seems a bit more than I would expect David to be able to say about Jesus, but it could be an explanation for the peculiar spelling of the word ha adam in this Hebrew text.
The NIV (followed by the NET and NLT4) modify the Hebrew words slightly to the question: “Is this [your usual] way [of dealing] with man?” The answer to which is, “Yes, God is gracious, and He offers extravagant blessings into the distant future.”
The ESV has an uncharacteristically-literal take with: “This is instruction for mankind,” implying rightly that this undeserved lovingkindness which God showed to David was also to show God’s eternally-gracious character to the whole world.
The American Jewish Version instead followed the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 17:17, which uses words with very similar spellings and meanings in Hebrew, which can be translated together, “You envisioned me according to the rank of the man of high-status5” – basically saying that God saw what David could become, so God brought him to that pinnacle, so David has merely been the recipient of God’s great favor.
You can look into the beauty of God’s word from multiple angles and get more than one perspective, and in each case where the translator is doing honest work, they come up with a fair interpretation that won’t contradict the rest of what God’s word teaches, and in every case, undeserved blessing from God is expressed in some way.
David’s humble heart also gives God glory for his successes rather than taking credit for himself.
David acknowledges to God in the first verse of his prayer (in v.18) that God is the one who brought him to this point of being a successful king.
David doesn’t see his hard work of fighting battles, and all his long years of trusting God’s promises, and all his clever strategizing as the reason why he is in this position of trust and power; instead he sees it as Gods’ doing.
In response to what God told him earlier in the chapter, “I took you from the sheep-fields to the presidency… I have been with you everywhere; I cut off your enemies, and I made you popular,” David is saying, “Amen, Lord, You indeed are the one who did all that for me!”
David’s response in v.20 of “What more can I say?” indicates that he wasn’t asking for anything more than what God had already promised him. The famous Puritan commentator Matthew Henry applied this in a convicting way: “The promises of the covenant of grace are framed by him that knows us, and therefore knows how to adapt them to every branch of our necessity. He knows us better than we know ourselves; and therefore let us be satisfied with the provision he has made for us. What can we say more for ourselves in our prayers than he has said for us in his promises?” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 A.D.
When we come before the Lord in prayer, let us come humbly, like David, content with His promises, seeing ourselves as undeserving of His blessings, thanking Him for all that He has done, and giving Him glory for all our successes.
In vs.20-21, the omniscience of God raises another reason for humility before Him.
God knows everything, so there’s nothing you can say that He doesn’t already know. Jesus said, “[Y]our Father knows what you need before you request it.” (Matt. 6:8, NAW)
To be sure, He has instructed us to pray, but if we keep in mind the fact that He already knows what’s going on in the world, and He already knows what’s on your heart, it can keep our prayers more respectful.
According to v.21, God is the one making things known to us, rather than us making things known to Him! Yet He loves to involve us in this process and hear us pray!
V.21 also underscores God’s sovereignty: He does whatever He wants to do, rather than doing things because He has to, like us.
He has done great deeds, and He has made David great simply because it was on His heart and so spoke6 it into being, not because David deserved it or earned it. “On account of Your word, and according to Your heart, You did all this great stuff in order to make it known to your servant,” says David.
Now we can see into New Testament future beyond David and realize a double meaning to God doing things “for His word's sake, that is, for the sake of Christ the eternal Word.” (M. Henry) The parallel passage7 in 1 Chronicles seems to support this by saying “for the sake of Your servant” instead of “for the sake of Your word.”
God exalted David to the kingship of Israel and promised to let his sons be kings after him, and that was great stuff,
but God also had in mind to send His own Son, in flesh, as one of David’s kingly descendants, to redeem an international people for Himself and instate a worldwide kingdom, and that is even greater stuff!
In v.22, David, in the same humble attitude, remembers the incomparable greatness of God.
In all the legends and stories mankind has ever told, no one has ever made up a greater God than Yahweh. David had grown up hearing the Bible stories about Moses and the Red Sea and Joshua and the Battle of Jericho, and he knew that none of the idols the Canaanites worshiped could hold a candle to that. (Psalm 44:1)
His words remind me of Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:2 “[T]here is no one holy like Yahweh, and there is no one righteous like our God; there is no one besides You, and there is no rock like our God!” (NAW)
David echoes that in Psalm 18:31 “[W]ho is God apart from Yahweh alone? And who is a landmark-rock except our God!”
And the Prophet Isaiah: “I am Yahweh, and there is not another; besides me there are no gods… [E]ye has not seen a god besides you who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him.” (Isaiah 45:5a & 64:4b, NAW)
When we come before God in prayer, let’s review His character qualities like David did – including His wise omniscience, His omnipotent sovereignty, and His majestic greatness!
Part of God’s greatness is in what He has done for His people. In v.23 God is described as “going;” He is the God who goes to His people rather than merely waiting for them to come to Him. Unlike the idols who have feet but they can’t walk, our God can MOVE!
David is remembering what he had previously read in Deuteronomy 4:34-40 “[D]id God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him... He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance... Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments... that it may go well with you and with your children after you..." (NKJV)
Our God is the one who “loved the world so much that He SENT His only son” Jesus (Who is constantly described as “The Coming One/The One Who Is To Come”). And this is the God who loved His people so much that He sent His Holy Spirit to go dwell in our bodies. This God is constantly “on the move” – not in the sense of being restless and bored with folks but – in the sense of always wanting to reach out and build healing relationships with more folks.
Why does He “go”? Note the 3 Hebrew infinitives in v.23 describing what God went out to do:
to redeem to be a people for Himself
to make a name for Himself
and to do great and fearsome/terrible/awesome stuff. The words for “great” and “awesome/fearsome” show up elsewhere in the Bible
describing God’s creation in Psalm 1398,
and also describing the plagues God sent upon Egypt in order to free Israel from slavery there (such as in Deuteronomy 109 and Psalm 10610),
as well as describing generally all God’s acts of salvation and deliverance (Ps. 145).
What is the “great and fearsome stuff” that 2 Samuel 7 refers to?
Some people think it describes the driving out11 of the nations of Canaan from before the Israelites (focusing on the inheritance of the promised land, which was marvelous),
and others12 think it describes the 10 plagues of Egypt (focusing on Israel’s deliverance from bondage, which was also miraculous).
I lean toward the former, but really both13 are mentioned in verse 23.
To redeem a people, to do really awesome things, and to make a name… These three items closely parallel the three parts of the covenant God had made with Abraham a thousand years before David in Genesis 12:2 “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you, And I will make your name great” (NKJV)
The things God did for Israel throughout its history were not random; they were driven by God’s specific goals from eternity past which He stated prophetically at the outset and then methodically carried out exactly as He said.
And one of the big, recurring themes in Biblical prophecy, mentioned in v.24, is that God wanted to make a people for Himself, a nation that would see itself as created by God - and belonging to that God - and who would therefore own Him as God and worship Him as such.
I already mentioned that from Genesis 12, but hear it play out in the rest of the Bible:
Exodus 6:7 “I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (NKJV)
Lev. 26:12 “...I will be God for y’all, and, as for y’all, y’all will be a people for me.” (NAW)
Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.” (NKJV, cf. 14:2, 29:13)
Psalm 50:7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel... I am God, your God!” (NKJV)
Psalm 95:7 “For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture…” (NKJV)
Isaiah 8:19 “...should not a people seek after their God?” (NAW)
Jeremiah 30:22 “You shall be my people and I shall be your God” (NKJV, cf. 7:23, 11:4)
Ezekiel 36:28 “Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” (NKJV, cf. 37:12, 38:14)
Joel 2:27 “Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.” (NKJV)
Hosea 2:23 “Then I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they shall say, 'You are my God!' " (NKJV, cf. 1:10, 4:6)
But does that nationalistic theme extend into the New Testament? Yes!
Peter explained in his first Epistle that Hosea was talking about gentiles becoming Christians: “Y’all are... a holy ethnicity, a people made to be around [Him] in such a way that y’all might extol the virtues of Him who called y’all out of darkness into His marvelous light – y’all who back then were not a people but now are the people of God” (1 Peter 2:9-10, NAW).
The angel announced that John the Baptizer would “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17, NKJV),
And in Acts 15:14, The apostles Peter and James “declared how God... visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.” (NKJV)
God calls Christians “my people” in Matt. 2, Romans 9, & 2 Cor. 6, as well as Hebrews 8:10 “...I.. will give my laws into their understanding; I will indeed inscribe them upon their hearts, and I will be to them for a God and, as for them, they will be to me for a people,” and in Rev. 18:4, He says, “My people, y’all keep coming out of her [speaking of Babylon].” (NAW)
To Christians, God is “our God” when Jesus summarized the law for us, “You shall love the Lord your God” (Matt. 22:37, NAW), and also when he said “...'I am ascending to... My God and your God.'" (John 20:17, NKJV)
and we see the fulfillment of this grand purpose of God to make a people for Himself, stated in the Pentateuch, Prophesied throughout scripture, and affirmed of Christians in the New Testament, finally realized in the last chapter of the Bible: Rev. 21:3 “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” (NKJV)
When we pray, let’s be thinking of these grand sweeps of redemptive history, and praise Him for what He has done to save in the past and join in with His enthusiasm for what He will yet do to save a people who will belong to Him and He to them!
Much like we cheer on an athlete in a game or a musician in a concert, David takes the role of cheering God on in v.25 – “egging” Him on to “Do what You said you would do!”
“In fact,” says David, “if You do what You say You will do – that is, if You establish my dynasty, then every time someone says, ‘Yahweh is the God over Israel,’ then Your name will be magnified – Your reputation will increase, because everybody will know that this administration is blessed, and everybody will want to be on the good side of the God who is behind all this blessing!”
That’s my interpretation of v.26 anyway: “Your reputation will increase for-ever by saying, “Yahweh of Army-hosts is God over Israel!” when the house of your servant David has been established before Your face.”
The greatness of God’s name and reputation among the nations throughout the world is an important theme throughout scripture:
1 Kings 8:41-43 Solomon prayed, "Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name's sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You...” (NKJV)
Ezekiel 36:23-24 “...I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.” (NKJV) God wanted to have a good name/reputation among the nations based upon what the nations saw in Israel.
Malachi 1:11 “For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts. (NKJV)
When Jesus prayed, He also showed God’s concern for glory: “Father, glorify thy name” He prayed in John 12:28, and, “Glorify thy Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee” in John 17:1 (KJV).
The Apostles also spoke in 2 Thessalonians 1:10-12 of Jesus coming “...to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe... Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (NKJV) When Jesus returns and finds you still trusting Him to make you right with God and He finalizes your salvation out of the goodness of His heart on that last day before He destroys the earth, that will really make Him look good, so the apostles prayed to that end!
Finally, in the last book of the Bible, the Christians in heaven, who witness God bringing justice against all the evil in the world, extol God’s name and reputation saying, “Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.” (Rev. 15:4, NKJV)
Let us therefore make the glory of God the object of our prayers. Did not our Lord Himself teach us to start our prayers with “Hallowed be thy name”? And we end it with, “Thine is the glory for ever.” (Henry)
In v. 27, David says, “You know I wouldn’t have had the courage to ask You for anything more than what I knew You were already going to do. I’m only praying for what you told me you were planning on doing.
What did David pray? V.24 “...establish for ever the word which You spoke over Your servant and over his house, and do exactly what You said!”
This is like what Mary said when the angel told her she would be the mother of the Messiah. It made her head spin, but she said, “Let it be done to me according to Your will!”
And that’s exactly what Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Let Your will be done.” (Matt. 6)
He also said, “[W]hatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it...” And “...I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 14:13-14 & 15:16, NKJV) John qualified that in his first epistle with the caveat that it has to be “according to His will.” There are some things God won’t do, even if you ask Him to, but “...if we request something for ourselves according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us - whatever we may be requesting - we know that we’ll have the items that we requested of Him.” (1John 5:14-15, NAW)
So, do you know God’s will? Do you know what God has already said in the Bible that He wants to do? Study it up and then pray it out; egg God on to do what He wants to do!
There is so much to be learned from studying the prayers in the Bible, but these are five good examples for now:
Express your personal relationship with God in words like “my master Yahweh,”
Approach God with humility (“Who am I?”), recognizing that God’s grace is undeserved, being satisfied with it (“What more can I say?”), and giving God your glory.
Review God’s Attributes
like His omniscience (“You know, O Lord”),
His sovereignty (“according to Your heart, You did all this great stuff”),
and His greatness (“You are great; there is no one like You!”)
Review God’s Salvation –past as well as future. “He goes to redeem a people, to do really awesome things, and to make a name for himself.”
And “Egg God On” - Study God’s word to see what He says He will do, then pray, “Do what You said you would do!” “Let Your name be glorified in us as it is in heaven! I know that’s what You want, so I’m going to be one of your biggest fans!”
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
MT/1Ch |
NAWB |
18
καὶ εἰσῆλθεν
ὁ βασιλεὺς
Δαυιδ καὶ
ἐκάθισεν ἐνώπιον
κυρίου καὶ
εἶπεν Τίς εἰμι
ἐγώ, κύριέ μου
κύριε, καὶ τίς
ὁ οἶκός μου,
ὅτι |
18
And king David came in, and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am
I, O Lord, my Lord, and what is my house, that thou hast |
18
And David X
went
in, and sat before the Lord, and said: Who am I, |
18
Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who
am
I, |
18 Then David the King went and sat down before the presence of Yahweh and said, “Who am I, my Lord Yahweh? And what is my house that You should bring me to this point? |
18 וַיָּבֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד וַיֵּשֶׁבC לִפְנֵי יְהוָהD וַיֹּאמֶר מִי אָנֹכִי אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה וּמִי בֵיתִי כִּי הֲבִיאֹתַנִי עַד-הֲלֹם: |
17:16 וַיָּבֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִיד וַיֵּשֶׁב לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וַיֹּאמֶר מִי-אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים וּמִי בֵיתִי כִּי הֲבִיאֹתַנִי עַד-הֲלֹם: |
17:16 Then David the King went and sat down before the presence of Yahweh and said, “Who am I, Yahweh God? And what is my house that You should bring me to this point? |
19
καὶ κατεσμικρύν |
19
Whereas |
19
But
yet this hath [seemed]
little in thy sightx, |
19
And this was yet |
19 And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, my Lord Yahweh. Furthermore, You have spoken also concerning the dynasty of Your servant being for some distance out, and this has become instruction for mankind, my Lord Yahweh! |
19 וַתִּקְטַן עוֹדF זֹאת בְּעֵינֶיךָ אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה וַתְּדַבֵּר גַּם אֶל-בֵּית-עַבְדְּךָ לְמֵרָחוֹק וְזֹאת תּוֹרַת הָאָדָםG אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה: |
17:17 וַתִּקְטַן X זֹאת בְּעֵינֶיךָ אֱלֹהִים X וַתְּדַבֵּר X עַל-בֵּית-עַבְדְּךָ לְמֵרָחוֹק וּרְאִיתַנִי כְּתוֹרH הָאָדָם הַמַּעֲלָה יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים: |
17:17 Yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, God. Furthermore, You spoke concerning the house of Your servant for some distance out, and You saw me according to the rank of the man of high-status, Yahweh God. |
20 καὶ τί προσθήσει Δαυιδ ἔτι τοῦ λαλῆσαι πρὸς σέ; καὶ [νῦν] σὺ οἶδας τὸν δοῦλόν σου, κύριέ μου κύριε. |
20 And what shall David X yet say to thee? and [now] thou knowest thy servant, O Lord, my Lord. |
20
And what can David X
say
more unto thee? for thou knowest thy servant, |
20 And what can David X say more unto thee? for thou, X Lord GOD, knowest thy servant. |
20 And what more can David add to say to You? For, as for You, You have known Your servant, my Lord Yahweh. |
20 וּמַה-יּוֹסִיף דָּוִד עוֹד לְדַבֵּר אֵלֶיךָ וְאַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ אֶת-עַבְדְּךָ אֲדֹנָי יְהוִהI: |
17:18 מַה-יּוֹסִיף עוֹד דָּוִיד X אֵלֶיךָ לְכָבוֹד אֶת-עַבְדֶּךָ וְאַתָּה אֶת-עַבְדְּךָ יָדָעְתָּ X X: |
17:18 What more can David add to You for the honoring of Your servant? For, as for You, You have known Your servant. |
21 διὰ τὸν λόγον σου [πεποίηκας] καὶ κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν σου ἐποίησας πᾶσαν τὴν μεγαλωσύνην ταύτην γνωρίσαι τῷ δούλῳ σου |
21
[AndJ
thou hast wrought]
for thy |
21
For thy word's sake, and according to thy own heart thou has done
all th |
21
For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou
done all th |
21 On account of Your word, and according to Your heart, You did all this great stuff in order to make it known to Your servant. |
21 בַּעֲבוּר דְּבָרְךָ וּכְלִבְּךָ עָשִׂיתָ אֵת כָּל-הַגְּדוּלָּה הַזֹּאת לְהוֹדִיעַ אֶת-עַבְדֶּךָ: |
17:19 יְהוָה בַּעֲבוּר עַבְדְּךָ וּכְלִבְּךָ עָשִׂיתָ אֵת כָּל-הַגְּדוּלָּה הַזֹּאת לְהֹדִיעַ אֶת-כָּל-הַגְּדֻלּוֹת: |
17:19 Yahweh, for the sake of Your servant and according to Your heart, You did all this great stuff in order to make known all the great things. |
22
ἕνεκεν τοῦ
μεγαλῦναί |
22
|
22
Therefore thou art magnified,
|
22
Wherefore thou art great, |
22 Therefore, You are great, my Lord Yahweh, for there is none like You, and there is no god besides You among all that we’ve heard about with our earsM! |
22 עַל-כֵּןN גָּדַלְתָּ אֲדֹנָי יְהוִהO כִּי-אֵין כָּמוֹךָP וְאֵין אֱלֹהִים זוּלָתֶךָ בְּכֹלQ אֲשֶׁר- שָׁמַעְנוּ בְּאָזְנֵינוּ: |
17:20
X X |
17:20
|
23
καὶ τίς ὡς ὁ
λαός σου X
Ισραηλ
ἔθνος |
23
And what |
23 And what X nation is there upon earth, as thy people X Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself,
and
to make him a name, and to do for |
23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself,
and
to make him a name, and to do for you
great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which
thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from
the nations and |
23
And what single nation on earth is like Your people {} Israel, to
whom God went to redeem
to be a people for
Himself, |
23
וּמִי
כְעַמְּךָ
Uכְּיִשְׂרָאֵל
גּוֹי אֶחָדV
בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר
הָלְכוּW-
אֱלֹהִים
לִפְדּוֹת-
לוֹ
לְעָם |
17:21
וּמִי
כְּעַמְּךָ
xיִשְׂרָאֵל
גּוֹי אֶחָד
בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר
הָלַךְx
הָאֱלֹהִים
לִפְדּוֹת
לוֹ xעָם |
17:21
And what single nation on earth is like Your people Israel, to
whom God went to redeem for Himself a people, |
24 καὶ ἡτοίμασας σεαυτῷ τὸν λαόν σου Ισραηλ X X X λαὸν ἕως αἰῶνος, καὶ σύ, κύριε, ἐγένου αὐτοῖς εἰς θεόν. |
24 And thou has prepared for thyself thy people Israel X X to be a people for ever, and thou, Lord, art become their God. |
24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel X X to be an everlasting people: and thou, O Lord God, art become their God. |
24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God. |
24 Now, You have established {} Your people Israel for Yourself to be a people for ever, and it is You, Yahweh, who belong to them as God. |
24 וַתְּכוֹנֵן לְךָ אֶת-עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְךָAB לְעָם עַד-עוֹלָם וְאַתָּה יְהוָה הָיִיתָ לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים: ס |
17:22 וַתִּתֵּן X אֶת-עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְךָ לְעָם עַד-עוֹלָם וְאַתָּה יְהוָה הָיִיתָ לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים: |
17:22 Now, You have given Your people Israel for Yourself to be a people for ever, and it is You, Yahweh, who belong to them as God. |
25
καὶ νῦνAC,
κύριέ [μου
κύριε],
τὸ ῥῆμα, ὃ ἐλάλησας
περὶ τοῦ δούλου
σου καὶ X
τοῦ
οἴκου αὐτοῦ,
πίστωσον
ἕως αἰῶνος,
[κύριε
παντοκράτωρ]
θεὲ [τοῦ
Ισραηλ·]
καὶ |
25
And now, O [my]
Lord[,
the Almighty Lord]
God [of
Israel,]
confirm
the word for ever which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant
and X
his
house: and |
25 And now, O Lord God, raise up for ever the word that thou hast spoken, concerning thy servant and concerning his house: and do as thou hast spoken, |
25 And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said. |
25 So now, Yahweh God, cause to establish for ever the word which You spoke over Your servant and over his house, and do exactly what You said! |
25 וְעַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ עַל-עַבְדְּךָ וְעַל- בֵּיתוֹ הָקֵם עַד- עוֹלָם וַעֲשֵׂהAD כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ: |
17:23
וְעַתָּה
יְהוָה X
הַדָּבָר |
17:23 So now, Yahweh, confirm for ever the word which You spoke over Your servant and over his house, and do exactly what You said! |
26
[και
νυν] μεγαλυν |
26
[And
now] Let
thy name |
26
That thy name may [be]
magnified for ever, |
26 And let thy name [be] magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. |
26 So Your reputation will increase for-ever by saying, ‘Yahweh of Army-hosts is God over Israel!’ when the house of your servant David has been established before Your face. |
26
|
17:24 וְיֵאָמֵן וְיִגְדַּל שִׁמְךָ עַד-עוֹלָם לֵאמֹר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וּבֵית- דָּוִיד עַבְדְּךָ X נָכוֹן לְפָנֶיךָ: |
17:24 So Your reputation will be confirmed and increase for ever by saying, “Yahweh of Army-hosts is the God of Israel. God is for Israel,” when the house of David your servant has been established before Your face. |
27 κύριε παντοκράτωρ θεὸς Ισραηλ, ἀπεκάλυψας τὸ ὠτίον τοῦ δούλου σου λέγων Οἶκον οἰκοδομήσω σοι· διὰ τοῦτο εὗρεν ὁ δοῦλός σου τὴν καρδίαν ἑαυτοῦ τοῦ προσεύξασθαι πρὸς σὲ τὴν προσευχὴν ταύτην. |
27 Almighty Lord God of Israel, thou hast uncovered the ear of thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore thy servant has found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee. |
27 Because thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to the ear of thy servant, saying: I will build thee a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee. |
27 For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to X thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. |
27 For it is You, Yahweh of Army-hosts – God of Israel – who caused it to be revealed to the ear of Your servant saying, ‘I will build a dynasty for you.’ Therefore your servant has found his courage to pray this prayer to You! |
27 כִּי-אַתָּה יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל גָּלִיתָה אֶת-אֹזֶן עַבְדְּךָ לֵאמֹר בַּיִת אֶבְנֶה-לָּךְ עַל-כֵּן מָצָא עַבְדְּךָ אֶת- לִבּוֹ לְהִתְפַּלֵּל אֵלֶיךָ אֶת-הַתְּפִלָּה הַזֹּאת: |
17:25
כִּי
אַתָּה X
X
|
17:25 For it is You, my God who caused it to be revealed to the ear of Your servant that You would build for him a dynasty, therefore Your servant found it to pray before Your face. |
28
καὶ νῦν, κύριέ
μου κύριε, σὺ
εἶ
X
ὁ
θεός, καὶ οἱ
λόγοι σου
ἔσονται
ἀληθινοί, καὶ
ἐλάλησας ὑπὲρ
τοῦ δούλου
σου τ |
28
And now, |
28
And now, |
28
And now, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: |
28 So now, my Lord Yahweh, You are the one – the God, and your words are true, and you have spoken to your servant this good thing, |
28 וְעַתָּה אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה אַתָּה-הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים וּדְבָרֶיךָ יִהְיוּ אֱמֶת וַתְּדַבֵּר אֶל-עַבְדְּךָ אֶת- הַטּוֹבָה הַזֹּאת: |
17:26
וְעַתָּה
X
יְהוָה
אַתָּה-הוּא
הָאֱלֹהִים |
17:26 So now, Yahweh, you are the one – the God, and You have spoken over Your servant this good thing, |
29 καὶ νῦν ἄρξαι καὶ εὐλόγησον τὸν οἶκον τοῦ δούλου σου τοῦ εἶναι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἐνώπιόν σου, ὅτι σὺ εἶ, κύριέ μου κύριε, ἐλάλησας, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς εὐλογίας σου εὐλογηθήσεται ὁ οἶκος τοῦ δούλου σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. |
29
And now begin
and bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue
for ever before thee; for thou, |
29
And now begin,
and bless the house of thy servant, that it may endure
for ever before thee: because thou, |
29
Therefore now let
it please [thee]
|
29 so now, give Your consent and bless the household of Your servant so that it may forever be before Your face, for it is You, my Lord Yahweh who have spoken, and because of Your blessing, the household of Your servant will be blessed forever!” |
29 וְעַתָּהAG הוֹאֵלAH וּבָרֵךְ אֶת-בֵּית עַבְדְּךָ לִהְיוֹת לְעוֹלָם לְפָנֶיךָ כִּי-אַתָּה אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה דִּבַּרְתָּ וּמִבִּרְכָתְךָ יְבֹרַךְ בֵּית-עַבְדְּךָ לְעוֹלָם: פ |
17:27
וְעַתָּה
הוֹאַלְתָּ
לְבָרֵךְ
אֶת-בֵּית
עַבְדְּךָ
לִהְיוֹת
לְעוֹלָם לְפָנֶיךָ
כִּי-אַתָּה
X
יְהוָה
בֵּרַכְתָּ
וּמְבֹרָךְX
x |
17:27 so now, You have determined to bless the house of Your servant in order that it will exist forever before Your face, for it is You, Yahweh, who have blessed, so it is blessed forever!” |
1“[U]nto the world to come [was] a phrase often used by the Jews for the times of the Messiah; see Heb_2:5; and so Abarbinel thinks this clause has respect to Messiah the son of David” ~John Gill, 1766 AD
2cf. RV “this too after the manner of men.” Keil & Delitzsch also used this translation “this is the law for men,” but explained it more along the lines of a combination of the way the ESV and NIV translated it.
3cf. Geneva: “doth this apperteine to man...?” also the position of Matthew Henry, John Gill, Robert Jamieson.
4David Tsumura, author of the New International Commentary on the O.T. volume on Samuel held this position.
5McCarter had a different translation along these lines: “shown me the turn of mankind” [in the generation to come].
6Keil & Delitzsch made the case from 1 Chron. 28:4, that David considered more than just the “word” to Samuel at his anointing (1Sam. 16:12), he also saw in himself – and in the Messiah to come – the fulfillment of the scepter in Judah from Jacob's blessing (Gen. 49:10), and perhaps the rising star from Balaam's prophecy as well (Num. 24:17).
7The ancient Greek version of 2 Samuel 7 also has the word “servant” instead of “word.” Both must be true at once.
8Psalm 139:14 “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” (NKJV)
920 "You shall fear the LORD your God... 21 He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.” (NKJV)
1021 “They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt, 22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, Awesome things by the Red Sea.” (NKJV) Also describing the nation of Israel crossing the Jordan River in Joshua 4:14
111 Chron, LXX, Junius, Willet, Henry, NIV, ESV, CEV, JPS, REB, and NRSV favored “drove out”
12MT, Vulgate, Vatabulus, Martyr, Pellican, Osiander, Geneva Bible, N/KJV, N/ASB, French LS, RV, NET, Spanish LBLA, Gill, K&D, and Tsumura favored “to your land”
13“David had in mind, when speaking of the acts of divine omnipotence which had inspired fear and dread of the majesty of God, not only the miracles of God in Egypt, but also the marvellous extermination of the Canaanites, whereby Israel had been established in the possession of the promised land, and the people of God placed in a condition to found a kingdom.” ~K&D
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing 2 Samuel 7 is 4Q51Samuela, which
contains fragments of vs. 6-7 & 22-29, and which has been dated
between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with
the MT, the MT is colored purple. Where
the DSS supports the LXX (or Vulgate) with omissions or text not in
the MT, I have highlighted with
yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I
have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with
{pointed brackets}.
BI have marked up the parallel passage in the MT of 1 Chronicles by placing a capital X where a whole word found in the 2Sam text is not found in the 1Chr text, a lower case “x” when a letter of a word is in 2Sam but not 1Chr, grey text to indicate words in the 1Chr text not found in 2Sam, and orange text to indicate words where a synonym was substituted.
CThere is a surprising amount of commentary on the fact that David “sat” to pray. Willett and K&D interpreted it as spending a long time. Others noted that it is one of many attitudes of prayer recommended in God’s word.
D“When ministers deliver God's message to us, it is not to them, but to God, that our hearts must reply.” ~Matthew Henry
ESyriac and a couple of Hebrew manuscripts omit the “also” which is in the MT and Vulgate.
FAlthough this “still/yet” is in the Vulgate, it’s not in the Old Latin, Syriac, Septuagint, or the parallel passage in 1 Chron.
GThis
is a curious phrase lit. “this instruction of the mankind,”
occurring nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. The closest it gets is
in Numbers 19:14 זֹאת
הַתּוֹרָה
אָדָם כִּי־יָמוּת
בְּאֹהֶל “This
is the instruction for
a man when he dies in a
tent…”
Andrew Willett: “But these
words are much better referred vnto Christ, ‘This is the lawe
of that (excellent) man’: which word excellent is supplied...
that is, thou grantest me these things, not for any merit or
worthinesse in me, but for the worthinesse of that excellent man
Christ… the word is haadam,
of that man, the article is put too, to note some excellent and
singular man... And Daud here hath manifest reference to the
Messiah, because he speaketh of the continuing of his house for
euer...”
Matthew Henry: “Is this the
manner of men? that is, First, Can man expect to be so dealt
with by his Maker? Is this the law of Adam? Note, Considering what
the character and condition of man are, it is very surprising and
amazing that God should deal with him as he does… Secondly,
Do men usually deal thus with one another? No...”
John
Gill: “is this the manner of man, O Lord God? to bestow
their favours on their inferiors, persons of no worth and merit, and
in a profuse manner? it is not…”
Robert
Jamieson: “is it customary for men to show such
condescension to persons so humble as I am?”
Hengstenberg:
“When God the Lord, in His treatment of poor mortals, follows
the rule which He has laid down for the conduct of men one towards
another, when He shows himself kind and affectionate, this must fill
with adoring amazement those who know themselves and God.”
Keil
& Delitzsch: “This - namely, the love and
condescension manifested in Thy treatment of Thy servant - is the
law which applies to man, or is conformed to the law which men are
to observe towards men, i.e., to the law, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself…”
David Tsumura: “Is
this the law for man…? … David expresses his amazement
at the Lord’s special treatment of him...”
HThis word only occurs in two other passages, referring to “taking turns” in Esther 2:12-15, and referring to ornaments – probably earrings - in Canticles 1:10-11. Most English versions translate it here as an “estate/rank/standard” of being “of high degree.”
ISyriac, Targums, and Vulgate read “God” instead of “Yahweh,” but it’s referring to the same person. 1 Chron 17 omits, but the vocative isn’t necessary to convey the same meaning.
JThe opening conjunction is inserted the Vaticanus, but not other manuscripts of the Septuagint.
KVaticanus (and Syriac) follow the text used in 1 Chron. “for the sake of your servant,” but LXX, Vulgate, Targums, and MT read “for the sake of your word.”
LVaticanus dropped out one of the “lord’s” whereas there are two in the MT and LXX.
Mcf. Psalm 44:1-2 “O God, we've heard with our own ears; our fathers recounted for us the accomplishment You accomplished in their days – in the early days. It was You – Your hand – that disinherited nations...” (NAW)
NTsumura noted that this is a “speaker-oriented ‘al-ken… not indicat[ing] the result of the previous sentence… [but] giving a comment or explanatory note from the speaker’s perspective,; hence, ‘A therefore I say B’…” citing 1 Sam. 5:5, 19:24b, 23:28, and 2 Sam. 5:8b as other examples of the speaker-oriented על כן. But this assumes that the “therefore” cannot refer to what follows in its own verse, so it doesn’t seem necessary to make a big deal of this.
OSyriac, Targums, and Vulgate read “Lord God,” instead of “Lord Yahweh” with the LXX and MT, but it is not saying anything different. Strangely, the KJV joined the NIV in following the Vulgate and Syriac over the LXX and MT here.
Pcf. 1 Samuel 2:2, Psalm 18:31, Isaiah 45:5a, 64:4b
QSome Hebrew manuscripts as well as the Targums read ככל “according to all,” which is not much different. Perhaps the KJV was using one of those manuscripts?
RThe Syriac and the parallel passage in 1 Chron. say, “you to drive out,” whereas the MT and Vulgate say, “to your land.”
SThe LXX reads as though some letters were transposed (ohelim = “tents” instead of elohim = “gods”).
TLXX and Vaticanus actually read 1st person (“I redeemed”) instead of 2nd person (“you redeemed”), but that is confusing.
ULXX, Vulgate, Targums, and Syriac, as well as several Hebrew manuscripts and the parallel passage in 1 Chron. omit the comparative, but there is no practical difference between “like my people – like Israel” and “like my people Israel.”
VVulgate omits this word, and LXX reads as though the word were אחר (“other”) instead of אחד, but Syriac, Targums, and the parallel account in 1 Chron all support “one.” The DSS is obliterated at this point; the spacing could support either spelling. The practical difference is not significant between “what other nation?” vs. “what single nation?”
WMost versions ignore the plural sureq on the end of this word, which would normally translate “they went” (including Latin, Syriac, and English, but not the Targums – which implied that it was Moses & Aaron who went to redeem Israel out of Egypt, and not Tsumura – who curiously advocated for “angels” being the ones who paid the ransom to release Israel from Egypt). Perhaps the plural form of God (elohim) can be applied to this plural verb form (although it would be unusual) in order to get “God went” (Kimchi went for this, calling it the “majestic plural.” Matthew Henry followed Osiander and Willet’s attribution to the Trinity: “[T]here was the same consultation and concurrence of all the persons in the blessed Trinity about the work of redemption that there was about the work of creation, when God said, Let us make man.” John Gill noted that all three persons of the Trinity are mentioned in the Exodus: “the Lord... the Angel of his presence... and his holy Spirit” K&D, on the other hand, said it referred to any and all within the pantheon of gods: “Is there any nation to which the deities worshipped by it went, as the true God went to Israel to redeem it for His own people?” The latter seems a bit of a stretch to me though.). Alternately, the LXX interpreted the sureq as a 3ms prepositional ending “caused him to go,” which also has the difficulty of the unusualness of not having a hiphil spelling to denote causality, without with “he went him” doesn’t make much sense. The parallel passage in 1 Chron. doesn’t have this ending on the verb, but reads “God went,” so I’m inclined to interpret it that way. The spacing in this obliterated section of the DSS doesn’t give a conclusive verdict.
XLXX & 1 Chron. read 2ms (“for you”) rather than 3ms (“for himself”), Targums seem to omit, Syriac לה = “for her?”
YDSS, LXX, and 1 Chron omit. Vulgate reads “them” along with several Hebrew manuscripts (<hl)).
ZTsumura suggested that the final mem on this word was not a plural but rather an adverbial enclitic which means “from,” enabling the translation “from a nation and its gods,” but this seems to be a bit of a stretch to defend the MT against the LXX and the DSS (both of which he disdains).
AAThe oldest-known manuscripts – the DSS and LXX read “tents” instead of “gods,” the difference being the switching of two letters in the Hebrew word (ahl-, to alh-).
AB“for yourself” is missing here in LXX & Vulgate, and the previous instance of “for yourself” is missing in the parallel passage in 1 Chron. The DSS reads “for yourself” here, but there is not enough space for all the words in the MT to fit in the obliterated section of the DSS previous to this word in this verse; omitting the first “for yourself” would make the words fit in the DSS.
ACAncient Greek versions from Aquila and Symmachus add a verb poihson “do.”
AD“Some of God’s promises are conditionall, some are absolute: the promise made to Dauid concerning the Messiah, which should come of his seede was absolute, and so likewise was the continuance of his posteritie vntill the Messiah: for Gods decree herein could not be altered: but the promise of the outward prosperitie of his seede, and the possessing and holding of the kingdome was conditionall, so his sonnes walked in obedience before God: therefore Dauid prayeth that such grace might be giuen vnto his posteritie, as that they might haue a prosperous gouernment.” ~Andrew Willett
AESources indicate that, despite the truncated form of this verse in the Vaticanus and traditional “Septuagint,” the full form of this verse in Greek is in the Alexandrinus Greek Old Testament, but the British Museum which curates it has not made the text or images of it available online. The only Greek version I could find was Field’s reconstruction of Origen’s Hexapla, citing a source he abbreviated as “Comp.” reproduced in square brackets in this column and translated by myself in square brackets in the “Brenton” column. The DSS, Syriac, Targums, Latin, and parallel passage in 1 Chron. all support the longer MT form of this verse.
AFThe Syriac and Targums and some Hebrew manuscripts add “forever” at the end, but there is no evidence for that in the LXX, Vulgate, or MT. The DSS is obliterated at this point, and the spacing is a little ambivalent, although leans in favor of not including an extra word. However, since the phrase “establish[ed] forever” occurs 9 other times in scripture, the Targums and Syriac did not add anything new here.
AGDavid repeats the word “now” at the beginning of verses 28 & 29 like he’s expecting the answer to come right away!
AH The only other Hiphil instances of this verb of willing are of human subjects in Jdg. 19:6; 2 Ki. 5:23; and 6:3, and are translated “please/consent/be content.”