2 Samuel 7:20-24

7:20 What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition,¹ O Lord God! 7:21 For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose² you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant.³ 7:22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true!⁴ 7:23 Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation⁵ on the earth? Their God⁶ went⁷ to claim⁸ a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land,⁹ before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods.¹⁰ 7:24 You made Israel your very own people for all time.¹¹ You, O Lord, became their God.

¹tn Heb “and you know your servant.” The verb here refers to recognizing another in a special way and giving them special treatment (see 1 Chr 17:18). Some English versions take this to refer to the Lord’s knowledge of David himself: CEV “you know my thoughts”; NLT “know what I am really like.”

²tn Heb “for the sake of your word and according to your heart.”

³tn Heb “to make known, your servant.”

⁴tn Heb “in all which we heard with our ears.” The phrase translated “in all” בְּכֹל (bÿkhol) should probably be emended to “according to all” כְּכֹל (kÿkhol).

⁵tn Heb “a nation, one.”

⁶tn 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.

⁷tn The verb is plural in Hebrew, agreeing grammatically with the divine name, which is a plural of degree.

⁸tn Heb “redeem.”

⁹tn Heb “and to do for you [plural form] the great [thing] and awesome [things] for your land.”

¹⁰tn Heb “from Egypt, nations and their gods.” The LXX has “nations and tents,” which reflects a mistaken metathesis of letters in אֶלֹהָיו (e’lohav, “its gods”) and אֹהָלָיו (’ohalav, “its tents”).

¹¹tn Heb “and you established for yourself your people Israel for yourself for a people permanently.”