The Daily Audio Bible

David’s Wish to Build a House for God^(A)

7 While King David was living in his house, the Lord gave him peace with all his enemies around him. ² So the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Look, I’m living in a house made of cedar, while the ark of God remains in the tent.”

³ Nathan told the king, “Do everything you have in mind, because the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But that same night the Lord spoke his word to Nathan: ⁵ “Say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one who will build me a house to live in? ⁶ I haven’t lived in a house from the day I took Israel out of Egypt to this day. Instead, I moved around in a tent, the tent ⌞of meeting⌟. ⁷ In all the places I’ve moved with all the Israelites, did I ever ask any of the judges ^[a] of Israel whom I ordered to be shepherds of my people Israel why they didn’t build me a house of cedar?’

⁸ “Now this is what you will say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture where you followed sheep so that you could be the leader of my people Israel. ⁹ I was with you wherever you went, and I destroyed all your enemies in front of you. I will make your name famous like the names of the greatest people on earth. ¹⁰ I will make a place for my people Israel and plant them there. They will live in their own place and not be troubled anymore. The wicked will no longer oppress them as they used to do ¹¹ ever since I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. So I will give you peace with all your enemies. I, the Lord, tell you that I will make a house for you.

¹² “ ‘When the time comes for you to lie down in death with your ancestors, I will send one of your descendants, ⌞one⌟ who will come from you. I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his Father, and he will be my Son. If he sins, I will punish him with a rod and with blows inflicted by people. ¹⁵ But I will never stop showing him my love as I did to Saul, whom I took out of your way. ¹⁶ Your royal house will remain in my presence ^[b] forever. Your throne will be established forever.’ ”

¹⁷ Nathan told David all these words and everything he had seen.

¹⁸ King David went into the tent and sat in front of the Lord. “Who am I, Almighty Lord,” he asked, “and why is my house so important that you have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And even this you consider to be a small act, Almighty Lord. You’ve also spoken about the distant future of my house. Almighty Lord, this is the teaching about the man.

²⁰ “What more can I, David, say to you, Almighty Lord, since you know me so well! ²¹ You’ve done this great thing because of your promise and your own desire. You made it known to me.

²² “That is why you are great, Lord God. There is no one like you, and there is no other god except you, as we have heard with our own ears. ²³ Who is like your people Israel? It is the one nation on earth that God came to free in order to make its people his own, to make his name ^[c] known, and to do great and wonderful things for them. You forced ^[d] nations and their gods out of the way of your people, whom you freed from Egypt to be your own. ²⁴ You created the people of Israel to be your people forever. And you, Lord, became their God.

²⁵ “Now, Lord God, keep the promise you made to me and my house forever. Do as you promised. ²⁶ Your name will be respected forever when ⌞people⌟ say, ‘The Lord of Armies is God over Israel.’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your presence. ²⁷ You, Lord of Armies, God of Israel, have revealed it especially to me, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ That is why I have found the courage to offer this prayer to you.

²⁸ “Almighty Lord, you are God, and your words are trustworthy. You promised me this good thing. ²⁹ Now, please bless my house so that it may continue in your presence forever. Indeed, you, Almighty Lord, have promised it. With your blessing my house will be blessed forever.”

David’s Successes^(B)

8 After this, David defeated and crushed the Philistines. He took control of the main Philistine city from them.^[e]

² He also defeated Moab, made the Moabites lie down on the ground, and measured them with a rope. He measured two lengths which were to be killed, and one length which was to be spared. So the Moabites became David’s subjects and paid taxes ⌞to him⌟.

³ When David went to restore his control ⌞over the territory⌟ along the Euphrates River, he defeated Zobah’s King Hadadezer, son of Rehob. ⁴ David took 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers from him. David also disabled all but 100 of their horses so that they couldn’t pull chariots.

⁵ When the Arameans from Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of them. ⁶ David put troops in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became his subjects and paid taxes ⌞to him⌟. Everywhere David went, the Lord gave him victories.

⁷ David took the gold shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s ^[f] servants, and he brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ King David also took a large quantity of bronze from Betah and Berothai, Hadadezer’s cities.

⁹ When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer’s whole army, ¹⁰ he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. (There had often been war between Hadadezer and Toi.) Joram brought articles of gold, silver, and bronze with him. ¹¹ King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he conquered— ¹² from Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the goods taken from Zobah’s King Hadadezer, son of Rehob.

¹³ David made a name for himself by killing 18,000 Edomites ^[g] in the Dead Sea region as he returned ⌞to Jerusalem⌟. ¹⁴ He put troops everywhere in Edom, and all the Edomites were David’s subjects. Everywhere David went, the Lord gave him victories.

¹⁵ So David ruled all Israel. He did what was fair and right for all his people. ¹⁶ Zeruiah’s son Joab was in charge of the army. Ahilud’s son Jehoshaphat was the royal historian. ¹⁷ Ahitub’s son Zadok and Abiathar’s son Ahimelech were priests. Seraiah was the royal scribe. ¹⁸ Jehoiada’s son Benaiah was commander of the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And David’s sons were priests.^[h]

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. ¹⁶ I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. ¹⁷ That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn’t see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.

¹⁸ “I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you. ¹⁹ In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. You will live because I live. ²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and that I am in you. ²¹ Whoever knows and obeys my commandments is the person who loves me. Those who love me will have my Father’s love, and I, too, will love them and show myself to them.”

²² Judas (not Iscariot) asked Jesus, “Lord, what has happened that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

²³ Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will go to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ A person who doesn’t love me doesn’t do what I say. I don’t make up what you hear me say. What I say comes from the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “I have told you this while I’m still with you. ²⁶ However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you.

²⁷ “I’m leaving you peace. I’m giving you my peace. I don’t give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don’t be troubled or cowardly. ²⁸ You heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, but I’m coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.

²⁹ “I’m telling you this now before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe. ³⁰ The ruler of this world has no power over me. But he’s coming, so I won’t talk with you much longer. ³¹ However, I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has commanded me to do. Get up! We have to leave.”