Passage
I will be his father, and hee shall bee my sonne: and if he sinne, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the plagues of the children of men.
2 Samuel 7:14 (GNV)
Nearby Context
2 Samuel 7:12 And when thy daies bee fulfilled, thou shalt sleepe with thy fathers, and I wil set vp thy seede after thee, which shall proceede out of thy body, and will stablish his kingdome.
2 Samuel 7:13 He shall buyld an house for my Name, and I will stablish ye throne of his kingdome for euer.
2 Samuel 7:14 I will be his father, and hee shall bee my sonne: and if he sinne, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the plagues of the children of men.
2 Samuel 7:15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I tooke it from Saul whome I haue put away before thee.
2 Samuel 7:16 And thine house shall be stablished and thy kingdome for euer before thee, euen thy throne shalbe stablished for euer.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "father", "shall", "sonne", "sinne", "chasten", "plagues", and "children". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "father" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 13's "He shall buyld an house for my..." into verse 15's "But my mercy shall not depart away...", so "father" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "father" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.