1 Chronicles 17:1-15
New English Translation
God Makes a Promise to David
17 When David had settled into his palace,[a] he[b] said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace[c] made from cedar, while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under a tent.”[d] 2 Nathan said to David, “You should do whatever you have in mind,[e] for God is with you.”
3 That night God told Nathan,[f] 4 “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 Egypt[g] to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places.[h] 6 Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not say[i] to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel,[j] ‘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 of Heaven’s Armies[k] says: “I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd[l] to make you a leader of my people Israel. 8 I was with you wherever you went and I defeated[m] all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth.[n] 9 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle[o] them there; they will live there and not be disturbed[p] anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning[q] 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 house[r] for you! 11 When the time comes for you to die,[s] 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.[u] 13 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.[v] 14 I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent.”’”[w] 15 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him.[x]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “house.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun “he” has been used in the translation here to avoid redundancy in keeping with contemporary English style.
- 1 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “house.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “tent curtains.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:2 tn Heb “all that is in your heart.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:3 tn Heb “the word of God was [i.e., came] to Nathan.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:5 tn The words “from Egypt” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- 1 Chronicles 17:5 tc Heb “and I was from tent to tent and from tabernacle.” The words אֶל־מִשְׁכָּן (ʾel mishkan, “to tabernacle”) should probably be added at the end of the sentence to complete this prepositional phrase and produce symmetry with the preceding prepositional phrase. The words probably fell from the text by homoioteleuton.sn I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. The point here is that the Lord moved with the tabernacle as it moved from place to place; he did not confine himself to a particular location.
- 1 Chronicles 17:6 tn In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question (“Did I say a word?”) meaning “I did not say a word.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:6 tn Heb “to one of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:7 tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:7 tn Heb “and from after sheep.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:8 tn Heb “cut off.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:8 tn Heb “and I will make for you a name like the name of the great men who are in the earth.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:9 tn Heb “plant.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:9 tn Heb “shaken.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:9 tn Heb “and sons of violence will no longer consume them as in the beginning.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:10 tn Here the word “house” is used in a metaphorical sense, referring to a royal dynasty. The Lord’s use of the word here plays off the literal sense that David had in mind as he contemplated building a temple (“house”) for the Lord. In the translation the adjective “dynastic” is supplied to indicate that the term is used metaphorically.
- 1 Chronicles 17:11 tn Heb “and it will be when your days are full to go with your ancestors.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:11 tn Heb “your seed.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:12 tn Heb “and I will establish his throne permanently.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:13 sn The one who ruled before you is a reference to Saul, from whom the kingdom was taken and given to David.
- 1 Chronicles 17:14 tn Heb “and his throne will be established permanently.”
- 1 Chronicles 17:15 tn Heb “according to all these words and according to all this revelation, so Nathan said to David.”
1 Chronicles 17:1-15
International Standard Version
God Establishes His Covenant with David(A)
17 After David had settled down to live in his palace, he[a] spoke with the prophet Nathan. “Look, here I am living in this[b] cedar palace, but the ark of the Lord’s covenant remains surrounded by curtains!”
2 “Do everything you have in mind,”[c] Nathan replied to David, “because God is with you.”
3 But later that same night, this message came to Nathan from God:
4 “Go tell David, my servant, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘“You won’t be building a house[d] for me to inhabit, will you? 5 After all, I haven’t lived in a house from the day I brought out Israel until today. Instead, I’ve lived from tent to tent and from one place to another.[e] 6 Wherever I’ve moved within all of Israel, did I ever ask even one judge of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people, ‘Why haven’t you built me a cedar house?’”’
7 “Now therefore this is what you are to tell my servant David:
‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “I took you from the pasture myself—from tending sheep—to become Commander-in-Chief[f] over my people Israel.
8 “‘“Furthermore, I have remained with you everywhere you have gone, annihilating all your enemies right in front of you. I will make your reputation[g] great, like the reputation[h] of the great ones who have lived on[i] earth. 9 I will establish a homeland[j] for my people Israel, planting them in a secure location where they will never be disturbed anymore. Wicked people[k] will not oppress them as happened in the past, 10 during the time I had commanded judges to administer[l] my people Israel. I’ll also grant you deliverance from all your enemies.
“‘“I’m also announcing to you that the Lord also will himself build a house[m] for you. 11 It will come about that when your life[n] is complete and you go to join your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring[o] after you, who is related to one of[p] your sons, and I will fortify his kingdom. 12 He will build a temple dedicated to me, and I will make his throne last forever. 13 I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me. I will never remove my gracious love from him as I did from the one who preceded you. 14 I will confirm him in my Temple and in my kingdom forever, and his throne will remain secure forever.”’”
15 Using precisely these words, Nathan communicated this complete oracle to David.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Chronicles 17:1 Lit. David
- 1 Chronicles 17:1 Lit. the
- 1 Chronicles 17:2 Lit. heart
- 1 Chronicles 17:4 Lit. house; and so throughout the chapter
- 1 Chronicles 17:5 The Heb. lacks to another
- 1 Chronicles 17:7 Lit. Nagid; i.e. a senior officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and management authority
- 1 Chronicles 17:8 Lit. name
- 1 Chronicles 17:8 Lit. name
- 1 Chronicles 17:8 The Heb. lacks have lived
- 1 Chronicles 17:9 Lit. place
- 1 Chronicles 17:9 Lit. Children of wickedness
- 1 Chronicles 17:10 Lit. judges over
- 1 Chronicles 17:10 I.e. a dynasty
- 1 Chronicles 17:11 Lit. days
- 1 Chronicles 17:11 Lit. seed; MT is sing.
- 1 Chronicles 17:11 Or is from
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