2 Samuel 7:12
in 2 Samuel 7And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
KJV
And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 7
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHowever, the tribe of Judah did not fail until he came for whom it was reserved, who did not himself sit upon a material throne, for the kingdom of Judea had now been transferred to Herod, the son of Antipater, the Ascalonite, and to his sons, who divided Judea into four provinces when Pilate was governor and Tiberius held the power over the whole Roman province. But his indestructible kingdom he calls the throne of David on which the Lord sat. He himself is "the expectation of nations," not of the least part of the world.
This site's exposition
I will raise up your descendant after you
on 2 Samuel 7:12-13
The house becomes a seed, a kingdom, and a throne established for ever. The nearest fulfillment is Solomon, who will build the house for my name that David himself wanted to build. Hebrews 1:5 and Luke 1:32-33 carry the same throne of his father David forward to Christ.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
That new dispensation, then, which is found in Christ now, will prove to be what the Creator then promised under the appellation of "the sure mercies of David," which were Christ's, inasmuch as Christ sprang from David, or rather his very flesh itself was David's "sure mercies," consecrated by religion, and "sure" after its resurrection. Accordingly the prophet Nathan, in the first [book] of Kings [Samuel], makes a promise to David for his seed, "which shall proceed," he says, "from your own body." Now, if you explain this simply of Solomon, you will send me into a fit of laughter. For David will evidently have brought forth Solomon! But is not Christ here designated the seed of David, as of that womb which was derived from David, that is, Mary's? Now, because Christ rather than any other was to build the temple of God, that is to say, a holy manhood, wherein God's Spirit might dwell as in a better temple, Christ rather than David's son Solomon was to be looked for as the Son of God. Then, again, the throne forever with the kingdom forever is more suited to Christ than to Solomon, a mere temporal king.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
I will set - I will set up in thy throne, thy posterity, first Solomon, and then others successively, and at last the Messiah. So the following words may be understood, part of his posterity in general, part of Solomon, and part of Christ only, according to the different nature of the several passages.
And when thy days be fulfilled,....
A very humble prayer which David offered up to God in return to that gracious message, thankfully accepting God's promises to him, and earnestly praying for the performance of them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But by a special ordinance and promise of God, his successor was to be a son born after this time; and the departure from the established usage of the East in fixing the succession, can be accounted for on no other known ground, except the fulfilment of the divine promise.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan--The command was given to the prophet on the night immediately following; that is, before David could either take any measures or incur any expenses.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The prophet, having detailed God’s past mercies to David, now passes on to direct prophecy, and that one of the most important in the O d Testament. I will set up the seed - In one sense this mannifestly refers to Solomon, David’s successor and the builder of the temple.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And from that day that I commanded. It is connected to what preceded it, they will no longer afflict [the people] as before, i.e., before the [days of the] Judges. And as they [also] did from the days of the Judges until now.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י׀ | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִמְלְא֣וּ | yimleu | they will be completed | H4390 → | |
| יָמֶ֗יךָ | yameikha | days your | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְשָֽׁכַבְתָּ֙ | veshakhavta | and you will lie down | H7901 → | 212 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ | ʾavoteikha | ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וַהֲקִימֹתִ֤י | vahakimoti | and I will raise up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זַרְעֲךָ֙ | zarakha | offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
| אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ | ʾachareikha | after you | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֵצֵ֖א | yetze' | he will come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִמֵּעֶ֑יךָ | mimeeikha | from inward parts your | H4578 → | 32 times |
| וַהֲכִינֹתִ֖י | vahakhinoti | and I will establish | H3559 → | 217 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַמְלַכְתּֽוֹ׃ | mamlakhto | kingdom his | H4467 → | 117 times |
כִּ֣י׀if
kiH3588 →4482 times
יִמְלְא֣וּthey will be completed
yimleuH4390 →
יָמֶ֗יךָdays your
yameikhaH3117 →2304 times
וְשָֽׁכַבְתָּ֙and you will lie down
veshakhavtaH7901 →212 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָancestors your
ʾavoteikhaH1 →1212 times
וַהֲקִימֹתִ֤יand I will raise up
vahakimotiH6965 →628 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
זַרְעֲךָ֙offspring your
zarakhaH2233 →229 times
אַחֲרֶ֔יךָafter you
ʾachareikhaH310 →715 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֵצֵ֖אhe will come out
yetze'H3318 →1067 times
מִמֵּעֶ֑יךָfrom inward parts your
mimeeikhaH4578 →32 times
וַהֲכִינֹתִ֖יand I will establish
vahakhinotiH3559 →217 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַמְלַכְתּֽוֹ׃kingdom his
mamlakhtoH4467 →117 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 2:30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne.
it leads to
- Psalms 132:11–18
The LORD swore an oath to David, a promise He will not revoke: “One of your descendants I will place on your throne.
- Psalms 89:3–4
You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant:
- Jeremiah 33:14–15
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the gracious promise that I have spoken to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
- 2 Samuel 7:11–16
and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house…
- Psalms 132:11–18
Through
Acts 13:36For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.
it leads to
- Acts 2:29
Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
- 1 Kings 2:10
Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
- Acts 13:22
After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in…
- Acts 2:29
Through
1 Chronicles 17:11And when your days are fulfilled and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.
it leads to
- Psalms 132:11
The LORD swore an oath to David, a promise He will not revoke: “One of your descendants I will place on your throne.
- Psalms 132:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies16
On this verse
By subject
Kingdom of God35 verses
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Basil of Caesarea, LETTER 236; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, AGAINST MARCION 3.20.