Note that Good News Translation restructures verses 10 and 11 so that the content of the two is combined and must be numbered together. The clause that Revised Standard Version translates from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel at the beginning of verse 11 will likewise need to be placed before certain parts of verse 10 in some other languages.
The verb tense problem at the end of the previous verse continues here. The verbs appoint, plant, and give … rest are grammatically perfect with a waw consecutive, which usually has a future meaning. Hebrew grammarians are divided on whether such a construction can ever be used to refer to past action or events. Good News Translation now switches to the past. On the other hand Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, which uses the past in the previous verse, turns to the future in verse 10. It is impossible to be certain which interpretation is correct here, though as stated in the previous verse, Hebrew grammar favors taking these three verbs as future tense.
It should also be noted that the verbs “dwell” and “be disturbed” in verse 10 are third person singular. The common interpretation is that the subject is “my people Israel” understood collectively. It is, however, possible to understand the subject of these verbs to be the place, that is, the temple, that God plans to establish. See the Anchor Bible translation cited at the end of this discussion of verses 10-11.
I will appoint a place: Anchor Bible argues that the place refers to a specific place of worship, but many other interpreters take it as referring to the Promised Land. This question is directly related to the problem of the verb tenses discussed in the previous paragraph. If the past tense interpretation is accepted, then this is most likely a reference to the Promised Land (see Exo 23.20; Num 10.29; 14.40; Deut 26.9; 1 Sam 12.8). However, even if one renders this verb in the future, the reference may still be to the Promised Land, understood as a final giving of the land by God to his people. If translators wish to make the interpretation as past tense explicit, Contemporary English Version provides a helpful model, “I have given my people Israel a land of their own….” However, if this is done, the alternative interpretation should probably be given in a footnote.
I … will plant them: the verb used here implies being firmly fixed or established in a particular place. The same sort of expression is found in Exo 15.17; Psa 44.2; and Jer 11.17; 24.6. Since the verb plant is not normally used of something done to people, this verb will be more naturally rendered “installed” or “settled” (Good News Translation). The Hebrew is literally “I will plant it [or, him].” The object pronoun may refer to the place, that is, the Temple, in which case it should be translated “it” in English. Or the pronoun may refer to “the people” collectively, in which case it should be translated “them” as in Revised Standard Version.
Be disturbed no more: the Hebrew verb indicates the action of shaking or trembling, and in this context the trembling is caused by anxiety. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “so that they shall dwell secure and shall tremble no more.” Good News Translation has shifted the focus from the anxiety which the Israelites will no longer experience to the reason that they will no longer tremble, “without being oppressed any more.”
Violent men: literally “sons of wrongdoing [or, wickedness].” In addition to the parallel passage in 1 Chr 17.9, this expression is also found in Psa 89.22, where it is rendered “the wicked” in Revised Standard Version. It is similarly translated by New American Bible and Revised English Bible in this verse. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh here says “evil men,” while Contemporary English Version has “Evil nations.” In some languages the most natural equivalent may be simply “bad people.” The most common understanding of these words is that they refer to pagan people of other nations who have fought against the Israelites. If, however, one understands verse 10 as a reference to establishing a place of worship, then the violent men may refer to Israelites such as the sons of Eli, who violated the sacred laws (see 1 Sam 2.12-25).
Afflict them no more: that is, “no longer cause them to suffer” or, as New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has it, “shall not oppress them any more.”
As formerly: literally “as at the beginning.” But the meaning here is rather “as in the past” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “in former times” (New Jerusalem Bible).
From the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel: this historical reference was clearer to the original readers or hearers of the text than to people today. For this reason this is translated in Good News Translation as “ever since they entered this land.” However, if the verb appointed is translated differently, it may be possible to follow the form of the original a bit more closely than Good News Translation does. This verb is not the same word as that translated appoint in the previous verse. It is frequently rendered “commanded,” and here it may be rendered “established” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or “let … rule” (Contemporary English Version). New Jerusalem Bible adds the implied verb that describes the function of the judges: “ever since I instituted judges to govern my people Israel” (New Jerusalem Bible). It will be recalled that judges in this context did much more than decide legal cases. For this reason the term is better translated “tribal leaders” (Anderson) or “champions” (Moffatt).
Give you rest from all your enemies: see verse 1 above.
Moreover: this translates the common conjunction, which is most often rendered “and” but which may frequently be omitted in translation. However, because it introduces the last in a series of things that the LORD will do for David, and introduces the main theme of the passage, certain languages may require some kind of transition. Knox, for example, has “and this too,” and New Jerusalem Bible renders the conjunction “furthermore.”
The LORD declares to you: throughout the rest of this direct quotation from the LORD, the first person singular pronoun “I” is used. It will therefore be unnatural in most languages to shift to a third person reference at this point. In most cases the emphasis on the name of the LORD can be retained by saying “I the LORD say to you that I will….”
Make you a house: a literal rendering will be misleading in many languages. This does not refer to the construction of a building but to the guarantee that David’s family will continue. The expression also implies that the descendants of David will continue to rule. This is all made clear in a rendering like that of Contemporary English Version, “you and your descendants will be kings.” If translators wish to point out the play on words between “house” (verses 5, 6, 7), referring to the temple that David wanted to build, and house, meaning the dynasty that the LORD would create for David, it may be better to do this in a footnote rather than to use unnatural language in the text. However, in some languages the dual meaning of the word “house” may be quite natural, but the verb may have to be different in the case where figurative language is used. Heb 3.1-6 is another example of a biblical passage where the word house is used with different meanings.
If translators choose the interpretation that the verbs in verses 9b-10 refer to future events, and that the object of the verb plant is the temple, then the following Anchor Bible translation may serve as a helpful model:
• I shall fix a place [of worship] for my people Israel and plant it, so that it will remain where it is and never again be disturbed, and nefarious men will no longer abuse it as in the past.
The literal translation by Chouraqui seems also to support this interpretation.
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 .