Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For thy word's sake,.... For the sake of the promise he had made to him by Samuel, that he should be king, and his kingdom should be established; or for the sake of the Messiah, that should spring from him; the Memra, as the Targum, the essential Word of God; and so the Septuagint version, "because of thy servant", with which agrees the parallel text in 1 Chronicles 17:19,

and according to thine own heart; of his own sovereign good will and pleasure, of his own grace, as the Arabic version, and not according to the merits and deserts of David:

hast thou done all these great things; in making him king of Israel, and settling the kingdom in his posterity to the times of the Messiah, who should spring from him:

to make thy servant know them; as he now did by Nathan the prophet, what he and his should enjoy for time to come; so that it is not only a blessing to have favours designed, purposed, and promised, but to have the knowledge of them, to know the things that are freely given of God.

Wesley's Explanatory Notes

For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.

Thy word's sake — That thou mightest fulfil thy promises made to me, and thereby demonstrate thy faithfulness.

Own heart — Or thy own mere liberality and good pleasure, without any desert of mine. So far was David, though a very gracious man, from thinking his actions meritorious.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

2 Samuel 7:21 For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know [them].

Ver. 21. For thy word’s sake,] i.e., For thy Christ’s sake, saith Junius: or for thy promise’s sake made unto me by Nathan, as 2 Samuel 7:25.

And according to thine own heart, &c., ] i.e., Ex mere motu, out of pure and unexcited love thou didst give thy word and promise: and for thy word’s sake thou wilt perform it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

For thy word’s sake; that thou mightest fulfil thy promises made to me by Samuel and Nathan, and thereby demonstrate thy faithfulness.

According to thine own heart, i. e. of thine own mere liberality and good pleasure, without any desert of mine. So far was David, though now a very gracious man, from thinking his actions meritorious.

To make thy servant know them, i.e. that thy gracious and wonderful purposes of mercy towards me, which lay hid in thine own heart, might be manifested unto me and others by thy most kind words and actions. So it agrees with 1 Chronicles 17:19.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

21.For thy word’s sake — The word is the promise of the perpetuity of the throne of David, which was magnified before all Israel, and in later times referred to as the “sure mercies of David.” The Divine purpose to exalt the throne of David involved, also, the purpose of magnifying the word of prophecy.

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Word's sake. Some copies (Haydock) of the Septuagint read "servant's sake," as 1 Paralipomenon xvii. (Calmet)

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.

For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things - i:e., it was of thine own gratuitous liberality, not from personal merits of mine, that thou hast entertained these marvelous purposes of favour toward me; and still more, that thou hast disclosed them for my individual gratification, as well as my family aggrandizement (cf. 1 Chronicles 17:19).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

thy word's

Numbers 23:19; Deuteronomy 9:5; Joshua 23:14,15; Psalms 115:1; 138:2; Matthew 24:35; Luke 1:54,55,72

according

Matthew 11:26; Luke 10:21; 12:32; 1 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:9; 3:11