1 Chronicles 17

1 And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah dwelleth under curtains.2 And Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.3 And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,4 Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in:5 for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel, unto this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.6 In all places wherein I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar?7 Now 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 Israel:8 and I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast gone, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee; and I will make thee a name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth.9 And 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 waste them any more, as at the first,10 and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will subdue all thine enemies. Moreover I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house.11 And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, who shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.12 He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever.13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee;14 but I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever.15 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

16 Then David the king went in, and sat before Jehovah; and he said, Who am I, O Jehovah God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?17 And this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; but thou hast spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Jehovah God.18 What can David say yet more unto thee concerning the honor which is done to thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant.19 O Jehovah, for thy servant’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things.20 O Jehovah, there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.21 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem unto himself for a people, to make thee a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou redeemest out of Egypt?22 For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Jehovah, becamest their God.23 And now, O Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, be established for ever, and do as thou hast spoken.24 And let thy name be established and magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and the house of David thy servant is established before thee.25 For thou, O my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build him a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray before thee.26 And now, O Jehovah, thou art God, and hast promised this good thing unto thy servant:27 and now it hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Jehovah, hast blessed, and it is blessed for ever.

1 Chronicles 17

God Makes a Promise to David

1 When David had settled into his palace,t het said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palacet made from cedar, while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under a tent.”t

2 Nathan said to David, “You should do whatever you have in mind,t for God is with you.”
3 That night God told Nathan the prophet,t4 “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must not build me a house in which to live.5 For I have not lived in a house from the time I brought Israel up from Egyptt to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places.ss

6 Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not sayt to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel,t ‘Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?’”’
7 “So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord who commands armiest says: “I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherdt to make you a leader of my people Israel.8 I was with you wherever you went and I defeatedt all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth.t9 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settlet them there; they will live there and not be disturbedt anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginningt

10 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. I will subdue all your enemies.
“‘“I declare to you that the Lord will build a dynastic houset for you!11 When the time comes for you to die,t I will raise up your descendant,t one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom.12 He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent.t13 I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you.s14 I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent.”’”t

15 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him.t

David Praises God

16 David went in, sat before the Lord, and said: “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family,t that you should have brought me to this point?17 And you did not stop there, O God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family.t You have revealed to me what men long to know,t O Lord God.18 What more can David sayt to you? You have honored your servant; you have given your servant special recognition.t19 O Lord, for the sake of your servant and according to your will,t you have done this great thing in order to reveal your greatness.t20 O Lord, there is none like you; there is no God besides you! What we heard is true!t21 And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nationt in the earth? Their Godt went to claimt a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome deedst when you drove outt nations before your people whom you had delivered from the Egyptian empire and its gods.t22 You made Israel your very own nation for all time.t You, O Lord, became their God.23 So now, O Lord, may the promise you made about your servant and his family become a permanent reality!t Do as you promised,t24 sot it may become a realityt and you may gain lasting fame,t as people say,t ‘The Lord who commands armies is the God of Israel.’s David’s dynastyt will be established before you,25 for you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a dynastyt for him. That is why your servant has had the courage to pray to you.t26 Now, O Lord, you are the true God;t you have made this good promise to your servant.t

27 Now you are willing to bless your servant’s dynastyt so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Lord, have blessed it and it will be blessed from now on into the future.”t