God’s Covenant with David (1 Chronicles 17:1–15)
1 UST King David was living in his palace, and Yahweh caused the enemy people groups that surrounded the Israelites to stop attacking them. BSB BSB: After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
2 UST So one day David said to the prophet Nathan,“Consider that I live in a palace that King Hiram’ s craftsmen built for me from cedar wood. But the sacred chest is only in a tent{ rather than a splendid temple}!” BSB BSB: he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3 UST Then Nathan told King David,“Yahweh will help you, so you may do what you want to do.” BSB BSB: And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”
4 UST But that night, Yahweh{ appeared to} Nathan and told him, BSB BSB: But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
5 UST “Go and give my servant David this message from me. He is not the one who will build a temple to hold the sacred chest on which I am invisibly present. BSB BSB: “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?
6 UST I have not been especially present in any building from the time when I brought the Israelites here from Egypt until now. Instead, I have been present in my sacred tent, moving from one place to another with the people. BSB BSB: For 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.
7 UST I went with the Israelites wherever they traveled, but I never told any of the leaders whom I appointed to rule them that they should have built a temple for me out of cedar wood. BSB BSB: In 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?’
8 UST So give my servant David this message from me, Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies. Although he worked out in the fields caring for his father’ s sheep, I appointed him to become the king of my Israelite people. BSB BSB: Now 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.
9 UST Remind him that I have protected him wherever he has gone. I have enabled him to defeat all the enemies who attacked him. Now I will make him very famous. He will become as famous as the greatest people who have ever lived on earth. BSB BSB: I 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 that of the greatest in the land.
10 UST When my Israelite people were slaves in Egypt, violent people oppressed them. They also oppressed them in this land during the time when I was appointing judges to lead them. But this will not happen anymore. I have made a place where my people can live, and I will enable them to keep living there. They will no longer be afraid. I will make all their enemies stop attacking them. Tell David that I promise that I, Yahweh, will enable his descendants to rule as kings. BSB BSB: And 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
13 UST Assure David that that son of his will build a temple for me. No one will ever replace him as the king. BSB BSB: He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 UST It will be as if I am his father and he is my son. When he does something wrong, I will punish him the way human fathers properly punish their sons. BSB BSB: I 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.
15 UST But I will never stop showing kindness to David and his descendants the way I stopped showing kindness to Saul. I made him no longer the king so that David could become the king. BSB BSB: But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
17 UST Nathan went and told David everything that Yahweh had told him when he appeared to him. BSB BSB: So Nathan relayed to David all the words of this entire revelation.
David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving (1 Chronicles 17:16–27)
18 UST { When he heard Nathan’ s message,} King David went into the sacred tent and sat in Yahweh’ s presence. He prayed,“Yahweh, my master, I am not a very important person, and I do not come from a very important family. So I do not deserve any of the things that you have done for me already. BSB BSB: Then 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?
19 UST And yet, Yahweh my Lord, you are telling me that you want to do even more for me. After all, you have now told me that my descendants will reign over Israel long into the future! And you have said that you will require people to obey them as their kings. BSB BSB: And 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?
20 UST Yahweh my Lord, I am not able to say anything further to you. But you know me so well that you know what I would say if I could say it. BSB BSB: What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD.
21 UST You are going to do a wonderful thing{ and make my descendants kings after me}. You are going to do this because you promised to make me a king, and because it is what you really want to do. It was also wonderful for you to tell me about this now. BSB BSB: For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.
22 UST This shows how great you are, Yahweh my Lord. We have never heard of any other God besides you. The gods that the people of other nations worship are nothing like you. BSB BSB: How 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.
23 UST No other nation in the world is like us, your Israelite people. None of the gods that other people groups worship rescued them so that those people would belong to them. You rescued us from being slaves in Egypt. You also rescued us from enemy nations{ here in Canaan} that thought their gods would enable them to defeat us. You did miracles to enable us to settle in this land. Because of the powerful things you have done, people throughout the world now respect you. BSB BSB: And 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.
24 UST You caused us Israelites to be your people forever, and you, Yahweh, have become our God! BSB BSB: For You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God.
25 UST Yahweh, my God, you have promised to do wonderful things for me and my descendants. So please do make those things you said happen always. BSB BSB: And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised,
26 UST When that happens, you will become famous forever. People will exclaim,‘Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, is the God who rules Israel!’ And you will make sure that a descendant of mine will always rule the Israelites. BSB BSB: so 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.
27 UST I am confident that you will do this, because you, Yahweh, have chosen us Israelites to be your people. You have revealed to me that you will make some of my descendants kings. For that reason, I have been bold enough to pray like this to you. BSB BSB: For 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.
28 UST So now, Yahweh my Lord, because you are God, we can trust that you will do what you promise. You have promised to do these good things to me. BSB BSB: And now, O Lord GOD, You are God! Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.
29 UST So now I pray that it will please you to do good things for my descendants. Please enable them to keep ruling your Israelite people. Yahweh my Lord, you have promised these things, and so I know that you will always keep doing good things for my descendants.” BSB BSB: Now 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.”
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