1 Chronicles 17:21-24

17:21 And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation¹ in the earth? Their God² went to claim³ a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deeds⁴ when you drove out⁵ nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods.⁶ 17:22 You made Israel your very own nation for all time.⁷ You, O Lord, became their God. 17:23 So now, O Lord, may the promise you made about your servant and his family become a permanent reality!⁸ Do as you promised,⁹ 17:24 so¹⁰ it may become a reality¹¹ and you may gain lasting fame,¹² as people say,¹³ ‘The Lord who commands armies is the God of Israel.’¹⁴ David’s dynasty¹⁵ will be established before you,

¹tn Heb “a nation, one.”

²tn 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.

³tn Heb “redeem” or “deliver.”

⁴tn Heb “to make for yourself a name [with] great and awesome [deeds].”

⁵tn Heb “to drive out.”

⁶tn Heb “from Egypt, nations.” The parallel text in 2 Sam 7:23 reads “from Egypt, nations and its gods.”

⁷tn Heb “and you made your people Israel your own for a people permanently.”

⁸tn Heb “and now, O Lord, the word which you spoke concerning your servant and concerning his house, may it be established permanently.”

⁹tn Heb “as you have spoken.”

¹⁰tn Following the imperative in v. 23b, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result: “so it might become a reality.”

¹¹tn Heb “so it might be established.”

¹²tn 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.”

¹³tn Heb “saying.” The words “as people” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

¹⁴tc Heb “the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], the God of Israel, Israel’s God.” The phrases אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (’elohey yisra’el, “God of Israel”) and אֱלֹהִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל (’elohim lÿyisra’el, “Israel’s God”) are probably alternative readings that have been conflated in the text.

¹⁵tn Heb “the house of David.”