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God Makes a Promise to David

17 When David had settled into his palace,[a] he[b] said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace[c] made from cedar, while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under a tent.”[d] Nathan said to David, “You should do whatever you have in mind,[e] for God is with you.”

That night God told Nathan,[f] “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must not build me a house in which to live. For I have not lived in a house from the time I brought Israel up from Egypt[g] to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places.[h] Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not say[i] to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel,[j] ‘Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?’”’

“So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[k] says: “I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd[l] to make you a leader of my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went and I defeated[m] all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth.[n] I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle[o] them there; they will live there and not be disturbed[p] anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning[q] 10 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. I will subdue all your enemies.

“‘“I declare to you that the Lord will build a dynastic house[r] for you! 11 When the time comes for you to die,[s] I will raise up your descendant,[t] one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent.[u] 13 I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you.[v] 14 I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent.”’”[w] 15 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him.[x]

David Praises God

16 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said: “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family,[y] that you should have brought me to this point? 17 And you did not stop there, O God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family.[z] You have revealed to me what men long to know,[aa] O Lord God. 18 What more can David say[ab] to you? You have honored your servant; you have given your servant special recognition.[ac] 19 O Lord, for the sake of your servant and according to your will,[ad] you have done this great thing in order to reveal your greatness.[ae] 20 O Lord, there is none like you; there is no God besides you! What we heard is true![af] 21 And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation[ag] in the earth? Their God[ah] went to claim[ai] a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deeds[aj] when you drove out[ak] nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods.[al] 22 You made Israel your very own nation for all time.[am] You, O Lord, became their God. 23 So now, O Lord, may the promise you made about your servant and his family become a permanent reality![an] Do as you promised,[ao] 24 so[ap] it may become a reality[aq] and you may gain lasting fame,[ar] as people say,[as] ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is the God of Israel.’[at] The dynasty[au] of your servant David will be established before you, 25 for you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a dynasty[av] for him. That is why your servant has had the courage to pray to you.[aw] 26 Now, O Lord, you are the true God;[ax] you have made this good promise to your servant.[ay] 27 Now you are willing to bless your servant’s dynasty[az] so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Lord, have blessed it and it will be blessed from now on into the future.”[ba]

David Conquers the Neighboring Nations

18 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. He took Gath and its surrounding towns[bb] away from the Philistines.[bc]

He defeated the Moabites; the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.[bd]

David defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah as far as Hamath, when he went to extend his authority[be] to the Euphrates River.[bf] David seized from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers,[bg] and 20,000 infantrymen . David cut the hamstrings of all but 100 of Hadadezer’s[bh] chariot horses.[bi] The Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David killed 22,000 of the Arameans. David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus;[bj] the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected[bk] David wherever he campaigned.[bl] David took the golden shields which Hadadezer’s servants had carried[bm] and brought them to Jerusalem. From Tibhath[bn] and Kun,[bo] Hadadezer’s cities, David took a great deal of bronze. (Solomon used it to make the big bronze basin called “The Sea,”[bp] the pillars, and other bronze items.)

When King Tou[bq] of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, 10 he sent his son Hadoram[br] to King David to extend his best wishes[bs] and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Tou had been at war with Hadadezer.[bt] He also sent various items made of gold, silver, and bronze.[bu] 11 King David dedicated these things to the Lord,[bv] along with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, including[bw] Edom,[bx] Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

12 Abishai son of Zeruiah[by] killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected[bz] David wherever he campaigned.[ca]

David’s Officials

14 David reigned over all Israel; he guaranteed justice for all his people.[cb] 15 Joab son of Zeruiah was commanding general of[cc] the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was secretary; 16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Abimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha[cd] was scribe; 17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada supervised[ce] the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were the king’s leading officials.[cf]

David’s Campaign against the Ammonites

19 Later King Nahash of the Ammonites died and his son succeeded him. David said, “I will express my loyalty[cg] to Hanun son of Nahash, for his father was loyal[ch] to me.” So David sent messengers to express his sympathy over his father’s death.[ci] When David’s servants entered Ammonite territory to visit Hanun and express the king’s sympathy,[cj] the Ammonite officials said to Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy?[ck] No, his servants have come to you so they can get information and spy out the land!”[cl] So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved their beards off.[cm] He cut off the lower part of their robes so that their buttocks were exposed[cn] and then sent them away. People[co] came and told David what had happened to the men, so he sent messengers to meet them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow again; then you may come back.”

When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them,[cp] Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 talents[cq] of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maacah, and Zobah.[cr] They hired 32,000 chariots, along with the king of Maacah and his army, who came and camped in front of Medeba. The Ammonites also assembled from their cities and marched out to do battle.

When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them.[cs] The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance to the city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the field. 10 When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans.[ct] 11 He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army and they were deployed against the Ammonites. 12 Joab[cu] said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me,[cv] you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you,[cw] I will come to your rescue. 13 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!”[cx] 14 So Joab and his men[cy] marched toward the Arameans to do battle, and they fled before him. 15 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before Joab’s[cz] brother Abishai and withdrew into the city. Joab went back to Jerusalem.

16 When the Arameans realized they had been defeated by Israel, they sent for reinforcements from beyond the Euphrates River,[da] led by Shophach the commanding general of Hadadezer’s army.[db] 17 When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River,[dc] and marched against them.[dd] David deployed his army against the Arameans for battle and they fought against him.[de] 18 The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 7,000[df] Aramean charioteers and 40,000 infantrymen; he also killed Shophach[dg] the commanding general. 19 When Hadadezer’s subjects saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “house.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun “he” has been used in the translation here to avoid redundancy in keeping with contemporary English style.
  3. 1 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “house.”
  4. 1 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “tent curtains.”
  5. 1 Chronicles 17:2 tn Heb “all that is in your heart.”
  6. 1 Chronicles 17:3 tn Heb “the word of God was [i.e., came] to Nathan.”
  7. 1 Chronicles 17:5 tn The words “from Egypt” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  8. 1 Chronicles 17:5 tc Heb “and I was from tent to tent and from tabernacle.” The words אֶל־מִשְׁכָּן (ʾel mishkan, “to tabernacle”) should probably be added at the end of the sentence to complete this prepositional phrase and produce symmetry with the preceding prepositional phrase. The words probably fell from the text by homoioteleuton.sn I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. The point here is that the Lord moved with the tabernacle as it moved from place to place; he did not confine himself to a particular location.
  9. 1 Chronicles 17:6 tn In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question (“Did I say a word?”) meaning “I did not say a word.”
  10. 1 Chronicles 17:6 tn Heb “to one of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people.”
  11. 1 Chronicles 17:7 tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.”
  12. 1 Chronicles 17:7 tn Heb “and from after sheep.”
  13. 1 Chronicles 17:8 tn Heb “cut off.”
  14. 1 Chronicles 17:8 tn Heb “and I will make for you a name like the name of the great men who are in the earth.”
  15. 1 Chronicles 17:9 tn Heb “plant.”
  16. 1 Chronicles 17:9 tn Heb “shaken.”
  17. 1 Chronicles 17:9 tn Heb “and sons of violence will no longer consume them as in the beginning.”
  18. 1 Chronicles 17:10 tn Here the word “house” is used in a metaphorical sense, referring to a royal dynasty. The Lord’s use of the word here plays off the literal sense that David had in mind as he contemplated building a temple (“house”) for the Lord. In the translation the adjective “dynastic” is supplied to indicate that the term is used metaphorically.
  19. 1 Chronicles 17:11 tn Heb “and it will be when your days are full to go with your ancestors.”
  20. 1 Chronicles 17:11 tn Heb “your seed.”
  21. 1 Chronicles 17:12 tn Heb “and I will establish his throne permanently.”
  22. 1 Chronicles 17:13 sn The one who ruled before you is a reference to Saul, from whom the kingdom was taken and given to David.
  23. 1 Chronicles 17:14 tn Heb “and his throne will be established permanently.”
  24. 1 Chronicles 17:15 tn Heb “according to all these words and according to all this revelation, so Nathan said to David.”
  25. 1 Chronicles 17:16 tn Heb “house.”
  26. 1 Chronicles 17:17 tn Heb “and this was small in your eyes, O God, so you spoke concerning the house of your servant for a distance.”
  27. 1 Chronicles 17:17 tn The translation “You have revealed to me what men long to know” is very tentative; the meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. The text appears to read literally, “and you see me like the searching of man, that which is upward,” which is nonsensical. The translation above assumes the following: (1) The Qal verb translated “you see me” is repointed as a Hiphil, “you showed me,” (2) תּוֹר (tor) is understood in the sense of “searching, exploring,” and (3) הַמַּעֲלָה (hammaʿalah) is taken in a temporal sense of “that which lies beyond.” Thus one could translate, “you have shown me what men search for, what lies beyond.”
  28. 1 Chronicles 17:18 tn The word “say” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew verb means “add.”
  29. 1 Chronicles 17:18 tn Heb “for honoring your servant, and you, your servant, know.”
  30. 1 Chronicles 17:19 tn Heb “heart.”
  31. 1 Chronicles 17:19 tn Heb “to make known all the great deeds.”
  32. 1 Chronicles 17:20 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “in all which we heard with our ears,” but בְּכֹל (bekhol, “in all”) should probably be emended to כְּכֹל (kekhol, “according to all”).
  33. 1 Chronicles 17:21 tn Heb “a nation, one.”
  34. 1 Chronicles 17:21 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.
  35. 1 Chronicles 17:21 tn Heb “redeem” or “deliver.”
  36. 1 Chronicles 17:21 tn Heb “to make for yourself a name [with] great and awesome [deeds].”
  37. 1 Chronicles 17:21 tn Heb “to drive out.”
  38. 1 Chronicles 17:21 tn Heb “from Egypt, nations.” The parallel text in 2 Sam 7:23 reads “from Egypt, nations and its gods.”
  39. 1 Chronicles 17:22 tn Heb “and you made your people Israel your own for a people permanently.”
  40. 1 Chronicles 17:23 tn Heb “and now, O Lord, the word which you spoke concerning your servant and concerning his house, may it be established permanently.”
  41. 1 Chronicles 17:23 tn Heb “as you have spoken.”
  42. 1 Chronicles 17:24 tn Following the imperative in v. 23b, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result: “so it might become a reality.”
  43. 1 Chronicles 17:24 tn Heb “so it might be established.”
  44. 1 Chronicles 17:24 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 (parallel to the previous purpose/result clause): “[so]…you might gain lasting fame.”
  45. 1 Chronicles 17:24 tn Heb “saying.” The words “as people” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  46. 1 Chronicles 17:24 tc Heb “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], the God of Israel, Israel’s God.” The phrases אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (ʾelohey yisraʾel, “God of Israel”) and אֱלֹהִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל (ʾelohim leyisraʾel, “Israel’s God”) are probably alternative readings that have been conflated in the text.
  47. 1 Chronicles 17:24 tn Heb “house.”
  48. 1 Chronicles 17:25 tn Heb “house.”
  49. 1 Chronicles 17:25 tn Heb “That is why your servant found to pray before you.” Perhaps the phrase אֶת לִבּוֹ (ʾet libbo, “his heart”) should be supplied as the object of the verb “found.”
  50. 1 Chronicles 17:26 tn Heb “the God.” The article indicates uniqueness here.
  51. 1 Chronicles 17:26 tn Heb “and you have spoken to your servant this good thing.”
  52. 1 Chronicles 17:27 tn Heb “house.”
  53. 1 Chronicles 17:27 tn Heb “for you, O Lord, have blessed and [it is] blessed permanently.”
  54. 1 Chronicles 18:1 tn 2 Sam 8:1 identifies this region as “Metheg Ammah.”
  55. 1 Chronicles 18:1 tn Heb “from the hand of the Philistines.” Here “hand” is figurative language for “control.”
  56. 1 Chronicles 18:2 tn Heb “carriers of tribute,” i.e., tribute payers.
  57. 1 Chronicles 18:3 tn Heb “hand.”
  58. 1 Chronicles 18:3 tn Heb “when he went to set up his hand at the Euphrates River.” The Hebrew word יָד (yad, “hand”) is usually understood to mean “control” or “dominion” here. However, since יָד does occasionally refer to a monument, perhaps one could translate, “to set up his monument at the Euphrates River” (i.e., as a visible marker of the limits of his dominion). For another example of the Hiphil of נָצַב (natsav) used with יָד (“monument”), see 1 Sam 15:12.
  59. 1 Chronicles 18:4 tn Or “horsemen.”
  60. 1 Chronicles 18:4 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Hadadezer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  61. 1 Chronicles 18:4 tn Heb “and David cut the hamstrings of all the chariot horses, and he left from them one hundred chariot horses.”
  62. 1 Chronicles 18:6 tc Heb “and David placed in Aram of Damascus.” The object נְצִיבִים (netsivim, “garrisons”) appears to have been accidentally omitted from the text. See v. 13, as well as the parallel passage in 2 Sam 8:6, which includes it.
  63. 1 Chronicles 18:6 tn Or “delivered.”
  64. 1 Chronicles 18:6 tn Or “wherever he went.”
  65. 1 Chronicles 18:7 tn Heb “which were upon the servants of Hadadezer.”
  66. 1 Chronicles 18:8 tn The MT reads “Tibhath” here, a variant name for Tebah (cf. 2 Sam 8:8). Some English translations substitute the other version of the name here (e.g., NIV, NLT), while others follow the reading of the Hebrew text at this point (e.g., NAB, NASB, NRSV).
  67. 1 Chronicles 18:8 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:8 has the variant name “Berothai.”
  68. 1 Chronicles 18:8 tn Heb “the sea of bronze,” or “[the] sea, the bronze one.” See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
  69. 1 Chronicles 18:9 tn The name is spelled “Toi” in the parallel text in 2 Sam 8:9.
  70. 1 Chronicles 18:10 tn The name is spelled “Joram” in the parallel text in 2 Sam 8:10.
  71. 1 Chronicles 18:10 tn Heb “to ask concerning him for peace.”
  72. 1 Chronicles 18:10 tn Heb “and to bless him because he fought with Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer was a man of battles with Tou.”
  73. 1 Chronicles 18:10 tn Heb “[along with] all items of gold and silver and bronze.”
  74. 1 Chronicles 18:11 tn Heb “also them King David made holy to the Lord.”
  75. 1 Chronicles 18:11 tn Heb “from.”
  76. 1 Chronicles 18:11 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:12 of the MT reads “Aram.” However, a few Hebrew mss along with the LXX and Syriac of 2 Sam 8:12 read “Edom” in agreement with 1 Chr 18:11 (cf. 2 Sam 8:14).
  77. 1 Chronicles 18:12 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:13 attributes this victory to David.
  78. 1 Chronicles 18:13 tn Or “delivered.”
  79. 1 Chronicles 18:13 tn Or “wherever he went.”
  80. 1 Chronicles 18:14 tn Heb “and he was doing what is just and fair for all his people.”
  81. 1 Chronicles 18:15 tn Heb “over.”
  82. 1 Chronicles 18:16 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:17 has the variant spelling “Seraiah.”
  83. 1 Chronicles 18:17 tn Heb “[was] over.”
  84. 1 Chronicles 18:17 tn Heb “and the sons of David [were] the first ones at the hand of David.” The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:18 identifies them as “priests” (see sn there on the word “priests”).
  85. 1 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “do loyalty.”
  86. 1 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “did loyalty.”
  87. 1 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “to console him concerning his father.”
  88. 1 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “and the servants of David came to the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun to console him.”
  89. 1 Chronicles 19:3 tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”
  90. 1 Chronicles 19:3 tc Heb “Is it not to explore and to overturn and to spy out the land (that) his servants have come to you?” The Hebrew term לַהֲפֹךְ (lahafokh, “to overturn”) seems misplaced in the sequence. Some emend the form to לַחְפֹּר (lakhpor, “to spy out”). The sequence of three infinitives may be a conflation of alternative readings.
  91. 1 Chronicles 19:4 tn Heb “shaved them.” See v. 5.
  92. 1 Chronicles 19:4 tn Heb “and he cut their robes in the middle unto the buttocks.”
  93. 1 Chronicles 19:5 tn Heb “they.” The logical referent, though not specified in the Hebrew text, has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  94. 1 Chronicles 19:6 tn Heb “that they were a stench [i.e., disgusting] with David.”
  95. 1 Chronicles 19:6 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the Ammonites hired chariots and charioteers for about 33.7 tons (30,600 kg) of silver.
  96. 1 Chronicles 19:6 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:6 has “Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah.”
  97. 1 Chronicles 19:8 tn The words “the news” and “to meet them” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
  98. 1 Chronicles 19:10 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:10 has “the Ammonites” in place of “the Arameans” here.tn Heb “and Joab saw that the face of the battle was to him before and behind and he chose from all the best in Israel and arranged to meet Aram.”
  99. 1 Chronicles 19:12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  100. 1 Chronicles 19:12 tn Heb “if Aram is stronger than me.”
  101. 1 Chronicles 19:12 tn Heb “if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you.”
  102. 1 Chronicles 19:13 tn Heb “and the Lord, what is good in his eyes, he will do.”
  103. 1 Chronicles 19:14 tn Heb “and the army which was with him.”
  104. 1 Chronicles 19:15 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  105. 1 Chronicles 19:16 tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  106. 1 Chronicles 19:16 tn Heb “and Aram saw that they were struck down before Israel and they sent messengers and brought out Aram which is beyond the River, and Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer [was] before them.”
  107. 1 Chronicles 19:17 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  108. 1 Chronicles 19:17 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:17 “he came to Helam.”tn Heb “and he came to them and was deployed against them.”
  109. 1 Chronicles 19:17 tn Heb “and David was deployed to meet Aram [for] battle and they fought with him.”
  110. 1 Chronicles 19:18 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:18 has “seven hundred.”
  111. 1 Chronicles 19:18 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:18 has the variant spelling “Shobach.”