II Samuel 7

¹And it came to pass, when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest from all his enemies round about,

²that the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.

³And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.

⁴And it came to pass the same night, that the word of Jehovah came unto Nathan, saying,

⁵Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah, Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

⁶for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.

⁷In all places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar?

⁸Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be prince over my people, over Israel;

⁹and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee; and I will make thee a great name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth.

¹⁰And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as at the first,

¹¹and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will cause thee to rest from all thine enemies. Moreover Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house.

¹²When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹³He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

¹⁴I will be his father, and he shall be my son: if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men;

¹⁵but my lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

¹⁶And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

¹⁷According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

¹⁸Then David the king went in, and sat before Jehovah; and he said, Who am I, O Lord Jehovah, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?

¹⁹And this was yet a small thing in thine eyes, O Lord Jehovah; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come; and this too after the manner of men, O Lord Jehovah!

²⁰And what can David say more unto thee? for thou knowest thy servant, O Lord Jehovah.

²¹For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou wrought all this greatness, to make thy servant know it.

²²Wherefore thou art great, O Jehovah God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²³And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem unto himself for a people, and to make him a name, and to do great things for you, and terrible things for thy land, before thy people, whom thou redeemedst to thee out of Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

²⁴And thou didst establish to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever; and thou, Jehovah, becamest their God.

²⁵And now, O Jehovah God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, confirm thou it for ever, and do as thou hast spoken.

²⁶And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is God over Israel; and the house of thy servant David shall be established before thee.

²⁷For thou, O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

²⁸And now, O Lord Jehovah, thou art God, and thy words are truth, and thou hast promised this good thing unto thy servant:

²⁹now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O Lord Jehovah, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

II Samuel 7

¹After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,

²he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

³And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

⁴But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,

⁵“Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build for Me a house to dwell in?

⁶For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling.

⁷In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’

⁸Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel.

⁹I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land.

¹⁰And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more. No longer will the sons of wickedness oppress them as they did at the beginning

¹¹and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you.

¹²And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹³He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

¹⁴I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

¹⁵But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I moved out of your way.

¹⁶Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”

¹⁷So Nathan relayed to David all the words of this entire vision.

¹⁸Then King David went in, sat before the LORD, and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

¹⁹And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O Lord GOD?

²⁰What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD.

²¹For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.

²²How great You are, O Lord GOD! For there is none like You, and there is no God but You, according to everything we have heard with our own ears.

²³And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.

²⁴For You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God.

²⁵And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised,

²⁶so that Your name will be magnified forever when it is said, ‘The LORD of Hosts is God over Israel.’ And the house of Your servant David will be established before You.

²⁷For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’ Therefore Your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to You.

²⁸And now, O Lord GOD, You are God! Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.

²⁹Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”