1 Chronicles 17
Legacy Standard Bible
The Ark of God Inhabits a Tent
17 (A)Now it happened when David inhabited his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I inhabit a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Yahweh is under tent curtains.” 2 So Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
3 Now it happened in the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and say to David My servant, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “(B)You shall not build Me a house to inhabit; 5 for I have not inhabited a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, (C)but I have been from tent to tent and from one [a]dwelling place to another. 6 Wherever I have gone about with all Israel, did I speak a word (D)with even one of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’
David’s House Will Be Established Forever
7 So now, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “I Myself took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 8 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a name like the name of the great men who are on 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 not be disturbed again; and the [b]unrighteous will not waste them anymore as formerly, 10 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies.
And I tell you that Yahweh will build a house for you. 11 And it will be that when your days are fulfilled to go to be with your fathers, I will raise up one of your seed after you, who will be of 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 a father to him and he will be a son to Me; and I will not remove My lovingkindness from him, (F)as I removed it from him who was before you. 14 But I will cause him to stand in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”’” 15 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
David Magnifies Yahweh’s Name
16 Then David the king went in and sat before Yahweh and said, “(G)Who am I, O Yahweh God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? 17 And this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of the house of Your slave concerning the distant future, and have regarded me according to the standard of a man of high degree, O Yahweh God. 18 Again what more can David say to You concerning the glory bestowed on Your slave? You know Your slave. 19 O Yahweh, (H)for the sake of Your slave, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness, to make known all these great things. 20 O Yahweh, there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 And what one nation in the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make You a name by great and awesome things, in driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt? 22 (I)Yet You gave Your people Israel to be Your own people forever, and You, O Yahweh, have become their God.
23 “So now, O Yahweh, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your slave and concerning his house [c]endure forever, and do as You have spoken, 24 that Your name [d]endure and be magnified forever, by saying, ‘Yahweh of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and the house of David Your [e]servant is established before You.’ 25 For You, O my God, have revealed in the hearing of Your slave that You will build for him a house; therefore Your slave has found courage to pray before You. 26 So now, O Yahweh, You are God, and You have [f]promised this good thing to Your slave. 27 So now, You have been pleased to bless the house of Your slave, that it may be forever before You. For You, O Yahweh, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 17:5 Or tabernacle, cf. 2 Sam 7:6
- 1 Chronicles 17:9 Lit sons of wickedness
- 1 Chronicles 17:23 Or be true
- 1 Chronicles 17:24 Or be true
- 1 Chronicles 17:24 Or slave, cf. 17:23; see Foreword, “The Terminology of Slave”
- 1 Chronicles 17:26 Lit spoken
1 Chronicles 17
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord’s Covenant with David
17 When David(A) had settled into his palace, he said to the prophet Nathan, “Look! I am living in a cedar house while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under tent curtains.”(B)
2 So Nathan told David, “Do all that is on your mind, for God is with you.”
3 But that night(C) the word of God came to Nathan: 4 “Go to David my servant and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in.(D) 5 From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have moved from one tent site to another, and from one tabernacle location to another.[a](E) 6 In all my journeys throughout Israel, have I ever spoken a word to even one of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, asking: Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?’ (F)
7 “So now this is what you are to say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel.(G) 8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a name for you like that of the greatest on the earth. 9 I will designate a place for my people Israel and plant them,(H) so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. Evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they have done 10 ever since the day I ordered judges to be over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.
“‘Furthermore, I declare to you that the Lord himself will build a house for you. 11 When your time comes to be with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who is one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He is the one who will build a house for me,(I) and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son.(J) I will not remove my faithful love from him as I removed it from the one who was before you.(K) 14 I will appoint him over my house and my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.’”(L)
15 Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.
David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving
16 Then(M) King David went in, sat in the Lord’s presence, and said,
Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far? 17 This was a little thing to you,[b] God, for you have spoken about your servant’s house in the distant future. You regard me as a man of distinction,[c] Lord God. 18 What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? You know your servant. 19 Lord, you have done this whole great thing, making known all these great promises for the sake of your servant and according to your will.(N) 20 Lord, there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, as all we have heard confirms. 21 And who is like your people Israel? God, you came to one nation on earth to redeem a people for yourself, to make a name for yourself through great and awesome works by driving out nations before your people you redeemed from Egypt.(O) 22 You made your people Israel your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.(P)
23 Now, Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and his house be confirmed forever, and do as you have promised. 24 Let your name be confirmed and magnified forever in the saying, “The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, is God over Israel.” May the house of your servant David be established before you. 25 Since you, my God, have revealed to[d](Q) your servant that you will build him a house, your servant has found courage to pray in your presence. 26 Lord, you indeed are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 27 So now, you have been pleased to bless your servant’s house that it may continue before you forever. For you, Lord, have blessed it, and it is blessed forever.
1 Chronicles 17
International Children’s Bible
God’s Promise to David
17 David moved into his palace. Then he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace made of cedar. But the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord sits in a tent.”
2 Nathan answered David, “Do what you want to do. God is with you.”
3 But that night God spoke his word to Nathan. God said, 4 “Go and tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: David, you are not the person to build a house for me to live in. 5 From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until now I have not lived in a house. I have moved from one tent site to another. I have gone from one place to another. 6 I have moved with the Israelites to different places. I commanded leaders to take care of my people. I never said to any of those leaders, “Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?”’
7 “Now, tell my servant David: ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies says: I took you from the pasture and from tending the sheep. I made you king of my people Israel. 8 I have been with you everywhere you have gone. I have killed your enemies for you. Now I will make you one of the most famous men on earth. 9 I will give this place to my people Israel. I will settle them here. Then they will have a home of their own. They won’t be bothered anymore. Evil people won’t hurt them as they have done since the first. 10 Evil people have hurt them since I chose leaders for my people Israel. I will also defeat all your enemies.
“‘I tell you that the Lord will make your descendants kings of Israel after you. 11 When you die and join your ancestors, I will let your child be the new king. He will be one of your own sons. And I will make his kingdom strong. 12 He will build a house for me. And I will let his family rule forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. I took away my love from Saul, who ruled before you. But I will never stop loving your son. 14 I will put him in charge of my house and kingdom forever. His family will rule forever.’”
15 Nathan told David everything God had said in this vision.
David’s Prayer
16 Then King David went in and sat in front of the Lord. David said, “Lord God, why have you made me so important to you? Why have you made my family important? 17 But that was not enough for you, God. You have also said these kind things about my future family. I am your servant. Lord God, you have treated me like a very important man.
18 “What more can I say to you? You have done so much for me, your servant. You love me so much. 19 Lord, you have done this wonderful thing for me for my sake. And you have done it because you wanted to. You have let me know all these great promises.
20 “There is no one like you, Lord. There is no God except you. We have heard all this ourselves. 21 There is no one like your people, the Israelites. It is the one nation on earth that God chose to be his people. You used them to make your name well-known. You did great and wonderful things for them. You went ahead of them and forced other nations out of the land. You freed your people from slavery in Egypt. 22 You made the people of Israel your very own people forever. And, Lord, you became their God.
23 “Lord, you made this promise about my family and me, your servant. Now, keep your promise forever. Do what you have promised. 24 Then people will know you and honor you forever. And people will say, ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the family of your servant David will continue before you.
25 “My God, you have told me that you would make my family great. So I, your servant, am brave enough to pray to you. 26 Lord, you are God. You have promised these good things to me, your servant. 27 You have chosen to bless my family. Let it continue before you forever. Lord, you have blessed my family. So it will be blessed forever.”
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