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.

David’s Prayer

¹⁸ Then David the king came in and sat before the Lord, and he said, “^(AC)Who am I, Lord ^[g]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, ^(AD)for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant regarding the distant future. And ^(AE)this is the ^[h]custom of mankind, Lord God. ²⁰ Again what more can David say to You? For ^(AF)You know Your servant, Lord God! ^21 (AG)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 ^(AH)You are great, Lord God; for ^(AI)there is no one like You, and there is no God except You, ^(AJ)according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²³ And ^(AK)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 ^(AL)to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, ^[i]because of ^(AM)Your people whom ^(AN)You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from other nations and their gods? ²⁴ For ^(AO)You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and ^(AP)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 (AQ)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 ^[j]given a revelation to Your servant, saying, ‘^(AR)I will build you a house’; therefore Your servant has found ^[k]courage to pray this prayer to You. ²⁸ Now then, Lord God, You are God, and ^(AS)Your words are truth; and You have ^[l]promised this good thing to Your servant. ²⁹ And now, may ^[m]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 ^[n](AT)with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”

The Fall of Jerusalem

52 ^(A)Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^[a](B)Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of ^(C)Libnah. ² He did ^(D)evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that ^(E)Jehoiakim had done. ³ For because of the ^(F)anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah, until He drove them out from His presence. And Zedekiah ^(G)revolted against the king of Babylon. ^4 (H)Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a ^[b](I)bulwark all around ^[c]it. ^5 (J)So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ⁶ On the ninth day of the ^(K)fourth month the ^(L)famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ Then the city was ^(M)breached, and all the ^(N)warriors fled and left the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were ^[d](O)all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. ⁸ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and ^(P)overtook Zedekiah in the ^[e]desert plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁹ Then they captured the king and ^(Q)brought him up to the king of Babylon at ^(R)Riblah in the land of ^(S)Hamath, and he ^[f]passed sentence on him. ¹⁰ And the king of Babylon ^(T)slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the commanders of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹ Then he ^(U)blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze shackles and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.

Philip in Samaria

⁴ Therefore, those ^(A)who had been scattered went through places ^[a](B)preaching the word. ^5 (C)Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming the ^[b]Christ to them. ⁶ The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the ^[c]signs which he was performing. ⁷ For in the case of many who had ^(D)unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been ^(E)paralyzed or limped on crutches were healed. ⁸ So there was ^(F)much rejoicing in that city.

⁹ Now a man named Simon had previously been practicing ^(G)magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, ^(H)claiming to be someone great; ¹⁰ and all the people, from small to great, were paying attention to him, saying, “^(I)This man is the Power of God that is called Great.” ¹¹ And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his ^(J)magic arts. ¹² But when they believed Philip ^(K)as he was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being ^(L)baptized. ¹³ Now even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed ^(M)signs and ^(N)great miracles taking place, he was repeatedly amazed.

¹⁴ Now when ^(O)the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them ^(P)Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them ^(Q)that they would receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ (For He had ^(R)not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been ^(S)baptized ^[d]in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ¹⁷ Then they ^(T)began laying their hands on them, and they were ^(U)receiving the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ Warning

16 “^(A)These things I have spoken to you so that you will not ^[a]be ^(B)led into sin. ² They will ^[b](C)ban you from the synagogue, yet ^(D)an hour is coming for everyone ^(E)who kills you to think that he is offering a ^[c]service to God. ³ These things they will do ^(F)because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴ But these things I have spoken to you, ^(G)so that when their hour comes, you ^[d]may remember that I told you of them. However, I did not say these things to you ^(H)at the beginning, because I was with you.

The Holy Spirit Promised

⁵ “But now ^(I)I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘^(J)Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, ^(K)grief has filled your heart. ⁷ But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the ^[e](L)Helper will not come to you; but if I go, ^(M)I will send Him to you. ⁸ And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: ⁹ regarding sin, ^(N)because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ and regarding ^(O)righteousness, because ^(P)I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; ^11 (Q)and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹² “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them at the present time. ¹³ But when He, ^(R)the Spirit of truth, comes, He will ^(S)guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. ¹⁴ He will ^(T)glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you. ^15 (U)All things that the Father has are Mine; this is why I said that He takes from Mine and will disclose it to you.