When your days are fulfilled: while it will be possible in most languages to translate flatly “When you die” as in Good News Translation, many will have more indirect ways of talking about death that will be appropriate here. Some may say, for example, “When you reach your last day on earth” or “When you come to the end of your days in this world.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh uses the English idiom “When your days are done.”

Lie down with your fathers: the same expression is more often translated “slept with … fathers” (especially in 1-2 Kings and 2 Chronicles), but here as in Gen 47.30 the verb “lie” is used. This idiomatic expression refers to burial in a place that is physically close to the dead person’s parents, grandparents, and other forebears. If there is no corresponding idiom in the receptor language, it will be best to translate the meaning as in Good News Translation, “buried with your ancestors.”

Raise up: the verb so translated is a causative form in Hebrew. The basic verb is used in the physical sense of getting up from a sitting or reclining position (compare 6.2 and 1 Sam 1.9). But used figuratively the meaning is “make prominent” or “give power.” In this context the idea is “cause to become king.”

Who shall come forth from your body: this expression, which is very similar in meaning to the word offspring, emphasizes the physical aspect of the relationship. It does not necessarily mean immediate descent but clearly involves a direct physical relationship. Compare 1 Sam 24.21, where a similar expression is used when Saul asks David to promise that Saul’s descendants will not be totally destroyed. Other languages may have special expressions that correspond to this. For example, “seed,” “offspring,” or possibly a simpler and more direct statement like “one of your own children” (Revised English Bible) or “one of your sons” (Contemporary English Version). Though the text does not mention him by name here, this is an allusion to Solomon (see 1 Kgs 2.12).

Establish: this does not focus on the original setting up of a kingdom but on making firm what has already been established. The verb comes from a root meaning “to stand up; be erect.” New Jerusalem Bible says “I shall make his royal throne secure forever.”

This verse may be restructured in some languages so that the part of the verse that talks about the time when these things will happen comes later in the verse rather than at the beginning. If this structure is preferred, the Contemporary English Version model may be helpful:

• I’ll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried in the tomb of your ancestors. I’ll make him a strong ruler….

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

There is an allusion to this verse in Acts 2.30.

He: the pronoun in Hebrew is emphatic, and it is important to retain this emphasis in translation. New International Version does so by saying “He is the one who….” Similarly Knox says “he it is….” Compare also Good News Translation. Fox shows this emphasis in the Hebrew by using italic font for the pronoun. The idea behind this emphasis is that it definitely will not be David who will do the building of the temple.

Here again the word house refers to a temple as the play on words between the meanings “temple” and “dynasty” continues.

For my name: since the name represents the person in the Old Testament, it will be better in many languages to translate as in Good News Translation, New Century Version, and Contemporary English Version, “for me.”

Establish the throne of his kingdom: this is similar to the expression used in the previous verse, but here the word throne is added. The idea is that the existence of the throne and therefore of the kingdom is guaranteed, and that it is God’s action that assures this. The verb establish, a key term in this chapter, is repeated in verse 16. Compare also 5.12 and 1 Sam 13.13. A possible translation model is “no one will be able to take his kingdom away from him” (Contemporary English Version) or “I will always keep his kingdom strong.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Moffatt takes verse 13 as a late addition and encloses it in double brackets. Verse 14 is then taken as a continuation of the thought of verse 12, and the pronouns are plural, referring to the dynasty rather than to an individual: “When they go astray, I will punish them….” This, however, is not recommended to translators.

As noted on the previous verse, the pronoun He in verse 13 is emphatic in the Hebrew. This emphatic pronoun contrasts with the emphatic pronoun I at the beginning of verse 14. Fox shows the emphatic character of the Hebrew by translating verses 13 and 14 as follows: “He will build a house to my name… I will be to him as a father….” In languages that have independent emphatic pronouns, translators should use them in this case, but the use of italics to convey meaning is discouraged.

Since God is speaking, the image of father and son may not be appropriate in some languages if translated literally. It will become necessary to say “I will be like a father to him and he will be like my son.” However, in many languages the imagery will be understood even when translated literally. Translators will recall that very similar wording is found in Heb 1.5.

Commits iniquity: this is a rather high level of language, meaning simply “make crooked,” “pervert,” or “make an error.” New International Version, Revised English Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible, like Good News Translation, say more plainly “does wrong,” which fits this context very well.

Chasten: the idea here is one of punishing with a view to correction and improvement of character. It will perhaps be better to use a verb like “punish” (New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version), “discipline” (Anchor Bible), or “correct” (New American Bible, Contemporary English Version).

With the rod of men: the meaning here is most probably that Yahweh will use the normal means of correction commonly applied by human beings. Other interpreters, however, take it to mean that, although he is divine, he will use human beings as instruments of his punishment. New Century Version, for example, says “When he sins, I will use other people to punish him. They will be my whips” (New Century Version). While the possibility of using human instruments is not excluded, this does not seem to be the emphasis of the text.

With the stripes of the sons of men: this expression is in parallel with the previous one, with the rod of men, and has the same essential meaning. The stripes are the result of beating with the rod. And the expression the sons of men is another way of talking about men or “human beings.” If it is natural to retain the parallelism, this better reflects the form of the original. But in those languages where such repetition of the same idea is awkward, the idea may be translated only once.

A good model for translating the second half of this verse is:

• When he does wrong, I shall punish him as any father might, and not spare the rod (Revised English Bible).

Or:

• When he does wrong, I’ll see that he is corrected, just as children are corrected by their parents (Contemporary English Version).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

But: this translates the common Hebrew conjunction, which is often translated “and,” but the context seems to require a word showing contrast.

Steadfast love: the Hebrew word so translated is rendered “kindness” by Revised Standard Version in 1 Sam 15.6 and “loyal love” in 1 Sam 20.14 (see the discussion under those verses). See also 2 Sam 2.5, where the same term is translated “loyalty.” Knox says “I will not cancel my merciful promise,” highlighting the idea of fidelity to a specific agreement.

As I took it from Saul: it should be made clear in translation that the pronoun it in this case refers to the steadfast love just mentioned. Contemporary English Version focuses on the idea of loyalty to an agreement and renders the overall meaning as “I will never put an end to my agreement with him, as I put an end to my agreement with Saul.” This is an allusion to the events narrated in 1 Sam 13.13-14.

Whom I put away from before you: the basic idea of the verb put away is “to get rid of,” as Eli told Hannah to get rid of her wine (1 Sam 1.14), and as Saul got rid of mediums and wizards (1 Sam 7.4). God got rid of Saul as king in order to be able to install David in his place. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh speaks of “Saul, whom I removed to make room for you.” New Century Version makes this a separate sentence at the end of the verse, saying “I removed Saul when I turned to you.” Good News Translation makes it clear that the position involved was that of king.

A possible model for the verse as a whole is:

• However, I will not withdraw my faithful love from him even though I did withdraw that love from Saul, who was king before you but who had to be removed.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The word house here does not refer to the Temple as it did in verse 11, but to the family or dynasty of David. For this reason Good News Translation translates “You will always have descendants,” while New Century Version has “Your family … will continue forever.”

Before me: most Hebrew manuscripts have “before you” at this point. But many scholars think that this is a scribal error caused by the fact that the previous verse contains the expression “before you.” The ancient Greek translation and a few Hebrew manuscripts have “before me.” Although Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text and recommends that translators follow the reading “before you,” of all the versions consulted, only New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and Bible de Jérusalem (1998 edition) do so. These words have been completely omitted by Good News Translation. If the MT is followed, the sense is that God promises David that David’s throne will be secure during David’s lifetime, that is, that David will live to see his kingdom well established. If the Septuagint reading “before me” is followed, these words have a messianic sense, that is, that there will always be rulers of the Davidic dynasty “before God,” even after David dies. Either understanding makes sense in the context, so translators may follow either the text of the Hebrew or the text of the Greek.

Your throne shall be established …: see verse 13, where the word throne is similarly used to speak of the dynasty of David.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The structure of this verse is radically changed by Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, and New Century Version in keeping with what is more natural in the English language. This same order may prove to be more natural in many other languages.

In accordance with: this translates a single Hebrew preposition that has a wide variety of meanings. Here the meaning “like” or “as” is well expressed in Revised Standard Version, but a number of other possibilities exist, including “in terms of” (Moffatt) and “exactly what he had heard” (Contemporary English Version).

The expressions all these words and all this vision are parallel but focus on different aspects of the revelation, so they should probably not be collapsed into a single statement if this can be avoided. The first of these focuses on what was said, and the second more specifically on what was supernaturally seen. The noun in the second case is based on a verbal root meaning “to see.” Revised English Bible uses verbal expressions to render both of these nouns, translating “all that had been said to him and all that had been revealed” (Revised English Bible). In languages where the passive is not natural here, the same idea can be conveyed by saying “everything that God had said and all the he had revealed to him” or “all that God had said to him by means of revelation [or, vision].”

Good News Translation translates “everything that God had revealed,” since all these words refers to the words that Yahweh had spoken. But this implicit information is not a part of the Hebrew text. Since “LORD” is used somewhat more frequently in the immediate context than “God,” some translators may prefer to use LORD here rather than God in such a dynamic rendering.

Spoke: while the word used here is the usual one for speaking, the context permits a translation like “related” (New Jerusalem Bible), “reported” (New International Version, Anchor Bible), or “gave a true account of” (Anderson).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And yet: the transition here should indicate a certain contrast between the fact that God had already done more than expected or deserved by David’s family and the unexpected fact that he actually continues to be gracious and has promised that his grace will remain with David’s descendants.

This was a small thing in thy eyes: the demonstrative pronoun this refers to what God had already done for David and his family (verse 18). And the expression in thy eyes is another way of saying “in your judgment” or “in your view.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has translated “even this … has seemed too little for you.” Another way of saying this is to put it in two separate sentences: “What you have already done was not enough in your estimation. You wanted to do even more.”

Thy servant’s house: since David uses these words to talk about himself and his family, it will be unnatural in many languages to use this kind of third person reference. It will be more natural to say something like “my family” or “my people who follow after me, [your servant].”

For a great while to come: literally “from afar” or “from a distance.” This expression is very frequently used with reference to physical distance or space (as in 1 Sam 26.13), but in a few cases it involves distance in time (2 Kgs 19.25; Isa 37.26). This seems to be the case here. The question is whether it refers to the past or the future. Here the meaning is likely “for a long time to come.”

Shown me future generations: the meaning of the Hebrew text at this point is unclear, as the wide variety of renderings in English indicates. A literal rendering of the Hebrew is “and this is the law of man,” and this is recommended by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which gives an {A} rating to the text. But interpreters have long been unable to say exactly what this means in the present context. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh attempts to make sense of it by translating “May that be the law for your people,” while Anderson has “this is truly a divine revelation for mankind.” New Jerusalem Bible has rendered this passage “such is human destiny,” indicating in a footnote that the translation is uncertain. And New American Bible, which also has an apologetic footnote, reads “this too you have shown to man.” New Revised Standard Version has “May this be instruction for the people.” Others have proposed changes in the Hebrew text that yield a meaning like that of Revised Standard Version, which is in keeping with the parallel passage in 1 Chr 17.17.

In keeping with the preferred reading of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project/Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, one rather attractive proposal is to take the words as another rhetorical question, “Is this the law for man?” meaning “Is this the way you normally deal with human beings?” This solution, adopted by La Bible Pléiade, Osty-Trinquet, New International Version, and Contemporary English Version, will then be another expression of David’s surprise at the grace of God. New Century Version adopts the same meaning but without the form of a question, “this is not normal….” Osty-Trinquet translates the Hebrew literally and then states in a note “Difficult to understand; perhaps: ‘can a human being deserve such favor?’ ” In the end all translators must acknowledge that there is no perfect solution to the problems presented by the Hebrew text here. An explanatory footnote will probably be required no matter what solution is adopted in the body of the translation.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .