The Hebrew says thy servant David my father, but Good News Translation says simply “my father David.” The idea that David served God should be preserved in translation. Compare Contemporary English Version: “My father David was your servant.”

Yea, thou didst speak with thy mouth, and with thy hand hast fulfilled it this day: Yea translates nothing more than the common Hebrew conjunction. But the reiteration of the same idea in thou didst declare and thou didst speak requires something to show that the repetition is for the sake of emphasis. There is also in this verse a contrast between the time when the promise was made to David and this day when the promise had been fulfilled. So it may be prudent to shift this element forward as Good News Translation has done with “today.”

Regarding the idiom thou didst speak with thy mouth, and with thy hand hast fulfilled, see verse 15. Good News Translation seems to omit the emphasis contained in the words with thy hand, which is accurately translated by New American Bible as “by your own power.” This element of meaning should not be omitted in the receptor language.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .