2 Samuel 7:12–16
God promises David a house and a throne that will last forever
Study it word by word12When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come out from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13He will build a house for my name, and I will make firm the throne of his kingdom forever.
14I will be to him a father, and he will be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will rebuke him with the rod of men and with the blows of human beings,
15but my loyal love will not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I took away from before you.
16And your house and your kingdom will be firm forever before you; your throne will be established forever.’”
In its context
10And I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and I will plant them, and they will dwell in their own place and will tremble no more; and unjust men will not again afflict them as at the beginning,
11even from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. And YHWH declares to you that YHWH will make a house for you.
…
17In accordance with all these words and in accordance with all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
18Then King David went in and sat before YHWH and said, “Who am I, Adonai YHWH, and who is my house, that you have brought me this far?
Its words in the original
- יִמְלְאוּyimlu· fill, be full
Fill or be full; also fulfill or complete (a time, a word given).
- יָמֶיyame· day
Day: the hours of light, or a whole day from one evening to the next. Also an indefinite time or age ("in the day that...", "in those days").
- שָׁכַבְתָּshachavta· lie down
Lie down: to sleep, or for sexual relations ("lie with"). "Lie down with one's fathers" is to die.
- אֲבֹתֶיavote· father
Father; also ancestor ("our fathers"), and the founder or head of a family or group.
- הֲקִימֹתִיhakimoti· rise, stand, establish
Rise, stand up; also stand firm, establish or fulfill something. "Rise against" is to attack.
- זַרְעֲzara· offspring, seed
Seed. From there "offspring": the children and generations that come from someone. Also sowing and semen.
- יֵצֵאyetse· go out, bring out
Go out, come out. In the causative form, "make go out", "bring out", "lead out", "produce".
- מֵּעֶיmee· inward parts, womb
Inward parts, belly. "One who comes from your inward parts" is one's own child. Figuratively, the seat of feeling.
- הֲכִינֹתִיhachinoti· be firm, prepare
Be firm, be set, be ready; in the causative form, set up, establish, prepare, make ready.
- מַמְלַכְתּmamlacht· kingdom
Kingdom: the territory and the power of a king; reign.
- יִבְנֶהyivne· build
Build, construct; also rebuild. Figuratively, build up a family (give it children).
- בַּיִתbayit· house, household
House. Also the family that lives in it ("the house of Noah") and someone's descendants ("the house of David"); also a temple, "the house of God".
- שְׁמִshemi· name
Name. In the Bible a name says who someone is; so it also means fame, renown or reputation.
- כִּסֵּאkise· throne
Throne: the king's seat, sign of his authority.
- עוֹלָםolam· forever, eternal
A very long time whose end cannot be seen: looking forward, "forever"; looking back, "of old", "ancient".
- אֶהְיֶהehye· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- בֵןven· son
Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).
- הַעֲוֺתhaavot· do wrong, pervert
Twist, pervert; act crookedly, do wrong. From this root comes "iniquity" (avon).
- הֹכַחְתִּיhochachti· reprove, decide
Decide who is right; reprove, correct, rebuke; also argue a case. In the passive, be shown to be in the right.
- שֵׁבֶטshevet· rod, scepter, tribe
Rod, staff; a king's scepter; also tribe.
- אֲנָשִׁיםanashim· man, husband, each
Man, male; with a possessive, husband. Also "each one", "anyone". It is "ish", distinct from "adam" (human being); it is used for the man in contrast with the woman ("ishah").
- נִגְעֵיnige· plague, blow
Plague, blow, stroke; also a mark of disease on the skin.
- אָדָםadam· human being, man, Adam
The Hebrew word "adam". It has three uses: (1) humanity in general, men and women alike: "human beings" (Genesis 1:27); (2) a particular man; in Genesis 2-4, the first man, "the man"; (3) the personal name of that first man, "Adam". In Hebrew "adam" sounds like "adamah", the ground he was formed from (Genesis 2:7).
- חַסְדִּchasdi· loyal love
"Chesed": love that stays faithful to a commitment. It is kindness that does not remain a feeling: it acts in favor of the other and does not abandon him. The Bible says it above all of God's love for his people.
- יָסוּרyasur· turn aside, remove
Turn aside, turn away; remove, take away.
- שָׁאוּלshaul· Saul
Saul, the name of several people. The best known is the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of Israel. A king of Edom and a son of Simeon also bear it. It means "asked for".
- פָנֶיfane· face, presence
Face. From there "surface" (the face of something) and "presence" (being before someone's face); with a preposition it means "before" or "in front of".
- נֶאְמַןneman· believe, be firm
Be firm, trustworthy; in another form, "believe": lean on someone and trust what he says. It is also said of one who brings up a child. "Amen" comes from this root.