“The God of Israel spoke;
The Rock of Israel said to me,
‘A ruler over people must be upright,
ruling in the fear of God;”
-2 Samuel 23:3
Verse 3 is another one of those verses whose true meaning gets mangled by our English Bibles.
I’ve copied and pasted verse 3 from the Complete Jewish Bible above.
The King James Version renders it as follows:
“The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spake to me,
He that ruleth over men must be just,
ruling in the fear of God.”
The NIV says…
“The God of Israel spoke,
The Rock of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God,”
So when we read these versions, what do we get?
We get this phrasing that seems to be simply telling us the characteristics of a just ruler in a very general sense.
That a ruler over God’s people rules in righteousness…
That he rules with the fear of God in mind, blah, blah, blah.
No! No! No!
No homies!
That ain’t what’s going on here.
See, the problem is that the Complete Jewish Bible, the King James, the NIV, and many other English versions are giving us what’s called a “dynamic translation.”
They’re shying away from a more literal translation of the verse because they’re afraid it won’t make sense.
That’s where they err.
The issue is easily resolved if you explain the context and punctuate the verses properly.
Here’s my attempt at a translation that more accurately conveys what’s REALLY going on here.
“The God of Israel says,
The Rock of Israel speaks to me;
Behold, a Ruler over men, just,
a Ruler in the fear of God.”
Can you hear the difference?
What we’ve got here is a full-blown coronation speech!
David is being given a future snapshot of a time when a new king will emerge from his line and will be officially presented to Israel.
This type of coronation speech would have been well understood by the ancients living in the Biblical era.
However, the nuance is lost on modern Westerners.
Culturally speaking, Easterners (Asians and Middle Easterners) can grasp this situation much more easily.
What’s being presented to us here is Yeshua the Messiah standing before multitudes of worshippers in the courtyard of the 3rd Temple of Israel.
While this new Davidic King stands before the people…
A voice booms from the heavens…
Just like it did at Sinai, proclaiming…
“Behold, a Ruler over men, just,
a Ruler in the fear of God.”
This is the real sense of what’s going on here that’s completely lost on most other English translations.
I dunno about you.
But I got goose bumps doing sprints up and down my spinal cord as I contemplate this scene.
See ya all next time.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“This is My beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.”
—Matthew 3:17
“This is My beloved Son.
Hear Him!”
—Mark 9:7
“And suddenly a voice
came from heaven, saying,
‘This is My beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.”
—Matthew 17:5
“For He received from
God the Father honor and glory
when such a voice came to
Him from the Excellent Glory:
‘This is My beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.’”
—2 Peter 1:17
“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
—Acts 13:33 (citing Psalm 2)
“He will be great,
and will be called
the Son of the Highest;
and the Lord God will
give Him the throne
of His father David.”
—Luke 1:32
“For unto us a Child is born…
and the government will
be upon His shoulder.”
—Luke 2:11
“And I saw heaven opened,
and behold, a white horse.
He who sat on him was called
Faithful and True,
and in righteousness
He judges and makes war.”
—Revelation 19:11
“And He has on His robe and
on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.”
—Revelation 19:16
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