2 Samuel 7
7
The Lord's Message to David
(1 Chronicles 17.1-15)
1King David moved into his new palace, and the Lord let his kingdom be at peace. 2Then one day, as David was talking with Nathan the prophet, David said, “Look around! I live in a palace made of cedar, but the sacred chest has to stay in a tent.”
3Nathan replied, “The Lord is with you, so do what you want!”
4That night, the Lord told Nathan 5to go to David and give him this message:
David, you are my servant, so listen to what I say. Why should you build a temple for me? 6I didn't live in a temple when I brought my people out of Egypt, and I don't live in one now. A tent has always been my home wherever I have gone with them. 7I chose leaders and told them to be like shepherds for my people Israel. But did I ever say anything to even one of them about building a cedar temple for me?
8 # Ps 151.4. David, this is what I, the Lord All-Powerful, say to you. I brought you in from the fields where you took care of sheep, and I made you the leader of my people. 9Wherever you went, I helped you and destroyed your enemies right in front of your eyes. I have made you one of the most famous people in the world.
10I have given my people Israel a land of their own where they can live in peace, and they won't have to tremble with fear any more. Evil nations won't bother them, as they did 11when I let judges rule my people. And I have kept your enemies from attacking you.
Now I promise that you and your descendants will be kings. 12#Ps 89.3,4; 132.11; Jn 7.42; Ac 2.30. I'll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried in the tomb of your ancestors. I'll make him a strong ruler, 13and no one will be able to take his kingdom away from him. He will be the one to build a temple for me. 14#Ps 89.26,27; 2 Co 6.18; He 1.5. I will be his father, and he will be my son.
When he does wrong, I'll see that he is corrected, just as children are corrected by their parents. 15But I will never put an end to my agreement with him, as I put an end to my agreement with Saul, who was king before you. 16#Ps 89.36,37. I will make sure that one of your descendants will always be king.
17Nathan told David exactly what he had heard in the vision.
David Gives Thanks to the Lord
(1 Chronicles 17.16-27)
18David went into the tent he had set up for the sacred chest. Then he sat there and prayed:
Lord All-Powerful, my family and I don't deserve what you have already done for us, 19and yet you have promised to do even more. Is this the way you usually treat people?#7.19 Is this … people: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 20I am your servant, and you know my thoughts, so there is nothing more that I need to say. 21You have done this wonderful thing, and you have let me know about it, because you wanted to keep your promise.
22 Lord All-Powerful, you are greater than all others. No one is like you, and you alone are God. Everything we have heard about you is true. 23#Dt 4.32-34. And there is no other nation on earth like Israel, the nation you rescued from slavery in Egypt to be your own. You became famous by using great and wonderful miracles to force other nations and their gods out of your land, so your people could live here.#7.23 You … here: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 24You have chosen Israel to be your people forever, and you have become their God.
25And now, Lord God, please do what you have promised me and my descendants. 26Then you will be famous forever, and everyone will say, “The Lord God All-Powerful rules Israel, and David's descendants are his chosen kings.” 27After all, you really are Israel's God, the Lord All-Powerful. You've told me that you will let my descendants be kings. That's why I have the courage to pray to you like this, even though I am only your servant.
28 Lord All-Powerful, you are God. You have promised me some very good things, and you can be trusted to do what you promise. 29Please bless my descendants and let them always be your chosen kings. You have already promised, and I'm sure that you will bless my family forever.
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2 Samuel 7: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
2 Samuel 7
7
David Wants to Build a Temple
1After King David moved into his new house the Lord gave him some relief from all of his enemies around him. 2King David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a fancy house made of cedar wood, but God’s Holy Box is still kept in a tent!”
3Nathan said to King David, “Do whatever you want to do. The Lord will be with you.”
4But that night, the Lord’s word came to Nathan:
5“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in. 6I did not live in a house at the time I took the Israelites out of Egypt. No, I traveled around in a tent. I used the tent for my home. 7I never told any of the tribes of Israel to build me a fancy house made from cedar wood.’
8“You must say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: I chose you while you were out in the pasture following the sheep. I took you from that job and made you the leader of my people, the Israelites. 9I have been with you every place you went. I have defeated your enemies for you. I will make you one of the most famous people on earth. 10-11And I chose a place for my people, the Israelites. I planted the Israelites. I gave them their own place to live so that they will not have to move from place to place anymore. In the past, I sent judges to lead my people, but evil people gave them many troubles. That will not happen now. I am giving you peace from all of your enemies. I promise that I will make your family a family of kings.#7:10-11 make … family of kings Literally, “make a house for you.”
12“‘When your life is finished, you will die and be buried with your ancestors. But then I will make one of your own children become the king. 13He will build a house for my name, and I will make his kingdom strong forever. 14I will be his father, and he will be my son.#7:14 father … son God “adopted” the kings from David’s family, and they became his “sons.” See Ps. 2:7. When he sins, I will use other people to punish him. They will be my whips. 15But I will never stop loving him. I will continue to be loyal to him. I took away my love and kindness from Saul. I pushed Saul away when I turned to you. 16Your family of kings will continue—you can depend on that! For you, your kingdom will continue forever! Your throne will stand forever!’”
17Nathan told David about that vision. He told David everything God had said.
David Prays to God
18Then King David went in and sat in front of the Lord. David said,
“Lord GOD, why am I so important to you? Why is my family important? Why have you made me so important? 19I am nothing but a servant, but Lord GOD, you have also said these kind things about my future family. Lord GOD, you don’t always talk like this to people, do you? 20How can I continue talking to you? Lord GOD, you know that I am only a servant. 21You will do all these wonderful things because you said you would do them and because you want to do them. And you decided to let me know about all these things. 22Lord GOD, this is why you are so great! There is no one like you. There is no god except you! We know that because of what we ourselves have heard about what you did.
23“And there is no nation on earth like your people, Israel. They are a special people. They were slaves, but you took them out of Egypt and made them free. You made them your people. You did great and wonderful things for the Israelites and for your land. 24You made the people of Israel your very own people forever, and Lord, you became their God.
25“Now, Lord God, you promised to do something for me, your servant, and for my family. Now please do what you promised—make my family a family of kings forever! 26Then your name will be honored forever. People will say, ‘The Lord God All-Powerful rules Israel! And may the family of your servant David continue to be strong in serving you.’
27“You, Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, have shown things to me. You said, ‘I will make your family great.’ That is why I, your servant, decided to pray this prayer to you. 28Lord GOD, you are God, and I can trust what you say. And you said that these good things would happen to me, your servant. 29Now, please, bless my family. Let them stand before you and serve you forever. Lord GOD, you yourself said these things. You yourself blessed my family with a blessing that will continue forever.”
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