2 Samuel 7-9
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Lord’s Messianic Covenant With David
7 It happened that when the king was living in his palace, and when the Lord had given him rest from his enemies all around, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I live in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God sits under tent curtains.”
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go and do everything that is in your heart, because the Lord is with you.”
4 But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan. He said, 5 “Go and tell my servant David all these things.”
The Covenant
This is what the Lord says. Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house from the day I brought the people of Israel up from Egypt until today. I have been moving around in the Tent and the Dwelling. 7 I have traveled everywhere with all the people of Israel. Did I ever speak a word to any of the judges[a] of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, or ask them, “Why have you not built a house of cedar for me?”
8 You are also to say the following to my servant David.
This is what the Lord of Armies says. I took you from the pasture, from following sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you went. I have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make your reputation great, like that of the great ones on the earth. 10 I will set up a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them there. They will dwell there, and they will not be disturbed again. Violent men will not afflict them again as they did at the beginning 11 and ever since the day I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The Lord also declares to you that the Lord himself will make a house for you. 12 When your days are complete and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your seed,[b] who will come from your own body. I will establish his kingdom. 13 He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he sins, I will discipline him with a rod used by men and with blows of the sons of men. 15 My faithful mercy will not depart from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed to make room for you. 16 Your house will stand firm, and your kingdom will endure forever before you.[c] Your throne will be established forever.
17 Nathan told David all the words that had been revealed in this vision.
David’s Response to the Covenant
18 Then King David went and sat before the Lord and said:
Who am I, Lord God? And what is my house that you have brought me to this point? 19 Yet this was a small thing in your eyes, Lord God. You have also spoken about the house of your servant for a long time into the future. Is this the law for the man, Lord God?[d]
20 What more can David say to you? You know your servant, Lord God. 21 Because of your word and according to the plan of your heart, you have carried out this great thing in order to make your servant aware of it. 22 Therefore, you are great, Lord God, because there is none like you. There is no God except you, in keeping with everything we have heard with our ears.
23 Who is like your people Israel, the one people on earth whom God went out to redeem for himself, to make them his people and to make a name for himself? You yourself did great and awe-inspiring things for your land in the presence of your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, in the presence of the nations and their gods.[e] 24 You established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever. You, Lord, became their God.
25 Now, Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 Your name will be great forever. People will say, “The Lord of Armies is God over Israel.” The house of your servant David will be established before you.
27 You, Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, have whispered into the ear[f] of your servant, saying, “I will build a house for you.” Therefore, your servant has found the heart to pray to you this prayer. 28 Now, Lord God, you are God. Your words are truth. You have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now, therefore, please bless the house of your servant, so that it will endure forever in your presence. For you, Lord God, have spoken. With your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.
David’s Wars
8 After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ha’ammah[g] from the control of the Philistines.
2 He defeated Moab and measured the men with a length of rope after making them lie down on the ground. He measured two lengths to be put to death and one full length to live. The Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control[h] at the river Euphrates. 4 David captured seventeen hundred charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers[i] from him. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but he left enough horses for a hundred chariots. 5 Arameans from Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David killed twenty-two thousand men in Aram. 6 Then David put garrisons in Damascus in the land of Aram,[j] and the Arameans became subject to David and brought tribute.
The Lord gave victory to David everywhere he went.
7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officials of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Betah and Berothai,[k] cities of Hadadezer, King David took large amounts of bronze.
9 Toi[l] king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer. 10 So Toi sent his son Joram[m] to King David to petition him for peace and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, because Toi had been at war with Hadadezer. In his hand he brought items made of silver and items of gold and items of bronze.
11 King David dedicated these things to the Lord along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued: 12 from Aram, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 David made a name for himself when he returned from striking eighteen thousand Edomites[n] in the Valley of Salt. 14 He put garrisons in Edom, in all of it, and all the Edomites became subject to David.
The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. 15 David was king over all Israel, and he treated all his people with justice and fairness.
David’s Officials
16 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the record keeper.[o] 17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelek son of Abiathar were priests. Seraiah was the secretary. 18 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the Kerethites and the Pelethites. The sons of David were government ministers.[p]
David and Mephibosheth
9 David said, “Is there anyone still left from the house of Saul, to whom I may show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?”
2 There was a servant of Saul’s house named Ziba, so they summoned him to come to David.
The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” He said, “I am.”
3 The king said, “Isn’t there still a man left who belongs to the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?”
Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan. He has crippled feet.”
4 The king said to him, “Where is he?”
Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
5 So King David sent and brought him from the house of Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar.
6 When Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, came to David, he bowed facedown to the ground.
David said, “Mephibosheth?” He said, “I am.”
7 David said to him, “Do not be afraid. I will certainly show kindness to you because of Jonathan, your father. I will return to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat bread at my table.”
8 He bowed down and said, “What is your servant that you have paid attention to a dead dog like me?”
9 The king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire house I am giving to your master’s son. 10 You are to work the soil for him, you and your sons and your servants. You are to bring in the crops, so your master’s son will have food to eat. Mephibosheth, your master’s son, will always eat bread at my table.”
(Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
11 Ziba said to the king, “Everything that my lord the king commands his servant, your servant will do.”
So Mephibosheth began eating at the king’s table[q] like one of the king’s sons.
12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. Everyone living in Ziba’s house became servants of Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth took up residence in Jerusalem because he was always to eat at the table of the king. He was crippled in both his feet.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 7:7 The translation follows the parallel reading in 1 Chronicles 17:6. Here the Hebrew reads tribes. In Hebrew script the words for tribes and judges look almost identical.
- 2 Samuel 7:12 Or your offspring or your descendent. The literal term seed is retained to point out the continuity of the messianic promises from Eve, through Abraham, David, and the kings of Judah, until they reach their fulfillment in Christ, the Seed of the Woman. To agree with the singular noun seed, the pronouns are singular throughout (he not they).
- 2 Samuel 7:16 The reading before you is the reading of the main Hebrew text. A few Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek Old Testament read before me.
- 2 Samuel 7:19 Literally this law of the man, Adonai Yahweh. This statement is cryptic, and the meaning is much debated. Most translations take it to mean something like Is this your usual way of dealing with mankind, Lord God? Martin Luther understood it to be a direct reference to Christ: This is the way of the Man (adam), who is the Lord God. Compare 1 Chronicles 17:17.
- 2 Samuel 7:23 The word order and agreement of the nouns in this verse is unusual and requires some rearranging in English.
- 2 Samuel 7:27 Or revealed into the ear. Literally you have uncovered the ear.
- 2 Samuel 8:1 This name, which may mean bridle of the mother city, seems to be a name for Gath. See 1 Chronicles 18:1.
- 2 Samuel 8:3 Literally his hand. The Hebrew word for hand can also mean monument.
- 2 Samuel 8:4 In 1 Chronicles 18:4 different statistics are reported.
- 2 Samuel 8:6 The land of Aram and the Aramean kingdoms occupied the territory of present-day Syria.
- 2 Samuel 8:8 The parallel in 1 Chronicles 18:8 has different names for these cities.
- 2 Samuel 8:9 Also called Tou in 1 Chronicles 18
- 2 Samuel 8:10 Also called Hadoram in 1 Chronicles 18:10
- 2 Samuel 8:13 The translation Edomites follows the reading of a few Hebrew manuscripts and some ancient versions. Most Hebrew manuscripts have the reading Arameans. In Hebrew script Edom and Aram look almost alike. The parallel text in 1 Chronicles 18:12 also identifies these enemies as Edomites.
- 2 Samuel 8:16 This official also served as a spokesman and chief of protocol. Like the secretary, he was the equivalent of a cabinet-level official.
- 2 Samuel 8:18 The Hebrew word cohen usually means priest, that is, a spiritual minister. David’s sons could not legitimately serve as priests since they were not Levites, so the term ministers here must be used in the European sense, to refer to ministers of state. In 1 Chronicles 18:17 these officials are called chief advisors at the side of the king.
- 2 Samuel 9:11 The ancient versions read the king’s table. This reading makes this a narrative sentence outside the quotation marks. The Hebrew text reads my table, but Mephibosheth would not be eating at Ziba’s table. If the reading my table is adopted, verse 11b must be spoken by David. David said, “Mephibosheth will eat at my table as one of the king’s sons.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.