David Plans to Build a Temple

7 ^(A)Now it came about, when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, ² that the king said to ^(B)Nathan the prophet, “See now, I live in ^(C)a house of cedar, but the ark of God ^(D)remains within the tent.” ³ Nathan said to the king, “^(E)Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But in the same night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁵ “Go and say to My servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(F)Should you build Me a house for My dwelling? ⁶ For ^(G)I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; rather, I have been moving about ^(H)in a tent, that is, in a dwelling place. ^7 (I)Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, ^(J)whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’

God’s Covenant with David

⁸ Now then, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(K)I Myself took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, ^(L)to be leader over My people Israel. ⁹ And ^(M)I have been with you wherever you have gone, and ^(N)have eliminated all your enemies from you; I will also make a great name for you, like the names of the great men who ^[a]are on the earth. ¹⁰ And I will establish a place for My people Israel, and ^(O)will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, ^(P)nor will ^[b]malicious people oppress them anymore as previously, ¹¹ even ^(Q)from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and ^(R)I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that ^(S)the Lord will make a house for you. ^12 (T)When your days are finished and you ^[c](U)lie down with your fathers, ^(V)I will raise up your ^[d]descendant after you, who will come from ^[e]you, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13 (W)He shall build a house for My name, and ^(X)I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14 (Y)I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; ^(Z)when he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and with strokes of sons of mankind, ¹⁵ but My favor shall not depart from him, ^(AA)as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from you. ^16 (AB)Your house and your kingdom shall endure before ^[f]Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”’” ¹⁷ In accordance with all these words and all of this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

God’s Covenant with David

17 ^(A)And it came about, when David lived in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.” ² Then Nathan said to David, “Do whatever is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³ But it happened that same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ “Go and tell David My servant, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(B)You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; ⁵ for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, ^(C)but I have ^[a]gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. ⁶ In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word ^(D)with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’ ⁷ Now, therefore, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have eliminated all your enemies from you; and I will make for you a name like the name of the great ones who are on the earth. ⁹ And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them there, so that they may live in their own place and not tremble with anxiety again; and the ^[b]wicked will not make them waste away anymore as they did previously, ¹⁰ even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies.

Moreover, I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you. ¹¹ When your days are fulfilled that you must ^[c]go to be with your fathers, then I will set up one of your ^[d]descendants after you, who will be from your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. ^13 (E)I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My favor away from him, ^(F)as I took it from him who was before you. ¹⁴ But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.”’” ¹⁵ According to all these words and according to all of this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer

¹⁸ Then David the king came in and sat before the Lord, and he said, “^(A)Who am I, Lord ^[a]God, and who are the members of my household, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, Lord God, ^(B)for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant regarding the distant future. And ^(C)this is the ^[b]custom of mankind, Lord God. ²⁰ Again what more can David say to You? For ^(D)You know Your servant, Lord God! ^21 (E)For the sake of Your word, and according to Your heart, You have done all this greatness, to let Your servant know. ²² For this reason ^(F)You are great, Lord God; for ^(G)there is no one like You, and there is no God except You, ^(H)according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²³ And ^(I)what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, and to make a name for Himself, and ^(J)to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, ^[c]because of ^(K)Your people whom ^(L)You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from other nations and their gods? ²⁴ For ^(M)You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and ^(N)You, Lord, have become their God. ²⁵ Now then, Lord God, the word that You have spoken about Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do just as You have spoken, ^26 (O)so that Your name may be great forever, by saying, ‘The Lord of armies is God over Israel’; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You. ²⁷ For You, Lord of armies, God of Israel, have ^[d]given a revelation to Your servant, saying, ‘^(P)I will build you a house’; therefore Your servant has found ^[e]courage to pray this prayer to You. ²⁸ Now then, Lord God, You are God, and ^(Q)Your words are truth; and You have ^[f]promised this good thing to Your servant. ²⁹ And now, may ^[g]it please You to bless the house of Your servant, so that it may continue forever before You. For You, Lord God, have spoken; and ^[h](R)with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”

David’s Prayer in Response

¹⁶ Then King David came in and sat before the Lord, and said, “^(A)Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? ¹⁷ This was a small thing in Your eyes, God; but You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have viewed me according to the standard of a person of high degree, Lord God. ¹⁸ What more can David still say to You concerning the honor bestowed on Your servant? For You know Your servant. ¹⁹ Lord, ^(B)for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished all this greatness, to make known all these great things. ²⁰ Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to everything that we have heard with our ears. ²¹ And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for You a name by great and awesome things, by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed from Egypt? ^22 (C)For You have made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, became their God.

²³ “Now, Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do just as You have spoken. ²⁴ Let Your name be established and be great forever, saying, ‘The Lord of armies is the God of Israel, a God to Israel; and the house of Your servant David is established before You.’ ²⁵ For You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You. ²⁶ Now, Lord, You are God, and have ^[a]promised this good thing to Your servant. ²⁷ And now You have decided to bless the house of Your servant, that it may ^[b]continue forever before You; for You, Lord, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

David’s Triumphs

8 ^(A)Now it happened afterward that David ^[a]defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took ^[b]control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.

^2 (B)And He ^[c]defeated ^(C)Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And ^(D)the Moabites became servants to David, ^(E)bringing tribute.

³ Then David ^[d]defeated ^(F)Hadadezer, the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as ^(G)he went to restore his ^[e]power at the Euphrates River. ⁴ And David captured from him ^[f]1,700 horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David ^(H)hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots. ⁵ When ^(I)the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David ^[g]killed twenty-two thousand men among the Arameans. ⁶ Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus, and ^(J)the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And ^(K)the Lord helped David wherever he went. ⁷ David took the shields of gold which were ^[h]carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from ^[i]Betah and ^(L)Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

⁹ Now when Toi king of ^(M)Hamath heard that David had ^[j]defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, ¹⁰ Toi sent his son ^[k]Joram to King David to ^[l]greet him and bless him, because he had fought Hadadezer and ^[m]defeated him; for Hadadezer ^[n]had been at war with Toi. And ^[o]Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze. ¹¹ King David also ^(N)consecrated these gifts to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had consecrated from all the nations which he had subdued: ¹² from ^[p]Aram, ^(O)Moab, ^(P)the sons of Ammon, ^(Q)the Philistines, ^(R)Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³ So ^(S)David made a name for himself when he returned from ^[q]killing eighteen thousand ^[r]Arameans in ^(T)the Valley of Salt. ¹⁴ He also put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and ^(U)all the Edomites became servants to David. And ^(V)the Lord helped David wherever he went.

David’s Kingdom Strengthened

18 Now after this ^(A)it came about that David ^[a]defeated the Philistines and subdued them and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. ² And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

³ David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his ^[b]rule to the river Euphrates. ⁴ David took from him a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵ When the Arameans of ^[c]Damascus came to help Hadadezer king ^(B)of Zobah, David ^[d]killed twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans. ⁶ Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of ^[e]Damascus; and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David wherever he went. ⁷ And David took the shields of gold which were ^[f]carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ Also from ^[g]Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a very large amount of bronze, with which ^(C)Solomon made the bronze ^[h]Sea and the pillars and the bronze utensils.

⁹ Now when ^[i]Tou king of Hamath heard that David had ^[j]defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent ^[k]Hadoram his son to King David to ^[l]greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and had ^[m]defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. And Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze. ¹¹ King David also dedicated these to the Lord, with the silver and the gold which he had carried away from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹² Moreover, Abishai the son of Zeruiah ^[n]defeated eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.

Grieving over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.

For the music director; according to ^[a]Shushan Eduth. A ^[b]Mikhtam of David, to teach; ^[c]when he fought with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.