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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2 Samuel 7: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
2 Samuel 7
7
God’s Promise to David
1The king moved into his palace. The Lord had given him peace and rest from all his enemies around him. 2Then the king spoke to Nathan the prophet. He said, “Here I am, living in a house that has beautiful cedar walls. But the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3Nathan replied to the king, “Go ahead and do what you want to. The Lord is with you.”
4But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan. The Lord said,
5“Go and speak to my servant David. Tell him, ‘The Lord says, “Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt. But I have not lived in a house from then until now. I have been moving from place to place. I have been living in a tent. 7I have moved from place to place with all the Israelites. I commanded their rulers to be shepherds over them. I never asked any of those rulers, ‘Why haven’t you built me a house that has beautiful cedar walls?’ ” ’
8“So tell my servant David, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “I took you away from the grasslands. That’s where you were taking care of your father’s sheep and goats. I made you ruler over my people Israel. 9I have been with you everywhere you have gone. I have destroyed all your enemies. Now I will make you famous. Your name will be just as respected as the names of the most important people on earth. 10I will provide a place where my people Israel can live. I will plant them in the land. Then they will have a home of their own. They will not be bothered anymore. Evil people will no longer crush them, as they did at first. 11That is what your enemies have done ever since I appointed leaders over my people Israel. But I will give you peace and rest from all of them.
“ ‘ “I tell you that I, the Lord, will set up a royal house for you. 12Some day your life will come to an end. You will join the members of your family who have already died. Then I will make one of your own sons the next king after you. And I will make his kingdom secure. 13He is the one who will build a house where I will put my Name. I will set up the throne of his kingdom. It will last forever. 14I will be his father. And he will be my son. When he does what is wrong, I will use other men to beat him with rods and whips. 15I took my love away from Saul. I removed him from being king. You were there when I did it. But I will never take my love away from your son. 16Your royal house and your kingdom will last forever in my sight. Your throne will last forever.” ’ ”
17Nathan reported to David all the words that the Lord had spoken to him.
David’s Prayer to the Lord
18Then King David went into the holy tent. He sat down in front of the Lord. He said,
“Lord and King, who am I? My family isn’t important. So why have you brought me this far? 19I would have thought that you had already done more than enough for me. But now, Lord and King, you have also said what will happen to my royal house in days to come. And, my Lord and King, this promise is for a mere human being!
20“What more can I say to you? Lord and King, you know all about me. 21You have done a wonderful thing. You have made it known to me. You have done it because that’s what you said you would do. It’s exactly what you wanted to do for me.
22“Lord and King, how great you are! There isn’t anyone like you. There isn’t any God but you. We have heard about it with our own ears. 23Who is like your people Israel? God, we are the one nation on earth you have saved. You have set us free for yourself. Your name has become famous. You have done great and wonderful things. You have driven out nations and their gods to make room for your people. You saved us when you set us free from Egypt. 24You made Israel your very own people forever. Lord, you have become our God.
25“And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made to me and my royal house. Do exactly as you promised. 26Then your name will be honored forever. People will say, ‘The Lord rules over all. He is God over Israel.’ My royal house will be made secure in your sight.
27“Lord who rules over all, you are the God of Israel. Here’s what you have shown me. You told me, ‘I will build you a royal house.’ So I can boldly pray this prayer to you. 28Lord and King, you are God! Your covenant can be trusted. You have promised many good things to me. 29Now please bless my royal house. Then it will continue forever in your sight. Lord and King, you have spoken. Because you have given my royal house your blessing, it will be blessed forever.”
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