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.”

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 in Response

¹⁶ Then King David came in and sat before the Lord, and said, “^(G)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, ^(H)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 (I)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 ^[e]promised this good thing to Your servant. ²⁷ And now You have decided to bless the house of Your servant, that it may ^[f]continue forever before You; for You, Lord, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.

Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For ^(A)the kingdom of heaven is like ^[a]a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his ^(B)vineyard. ² When he had agreed with the laborers for a ^[b]denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the ^[c]third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace; ⁴ and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, and whatever is right, I will give you.’ And so they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the ^[d]sixth and the ninth hour, and did ^[e]the same thing. ⁶ And about the ^[f]eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ ⁷ They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ “Now when ^(C)evening came, the ^[g]owner of the vineyard *said to his ^(D)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a ^[h]denarius. ¹⁰ And so when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; ^[i]but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, ¹² saying, ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the ^(E)scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he answered and said to one of them, ‘^(F)Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go; but I want to give to this last person the same as to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your ^(G)eye ^[j]envious because I am ^[k]generous?’ ¹⁶ So ^(H)the last shall be first, and the first, last.”

Death, Resurrection Foretold

^17 (I)As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the road He said to them, ¹⁸ “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man ^(J)will be ^[l]handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, ¹⁹ and they ^(K)will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify, and on ^(L)the third day He will be raised up.”

Request for Preferred Treatment

^20 (M)Then the mother of ^(N)the ^[m]sons of Zebedee came to ^[n]Jesus with her sons, ^(O)bowing down and making a request of Him. ²¹ And He said to her, “What do you desire?” She *said to Him, “Say that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine ^(P)shall sit, one at Your right, and one at Your left.” ²² But Jesus replied, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(Q)to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.” ²³ He *said to them, “^(R)My cup you shall drink; but to sit at My right and at My left is not Mine to give, ^(S)but it is for those for whom it has been ^(T)prepared by My Father.”

²⁴ And after hearing this, the other ten disciples became indignant with the two brothers. ^25 (U)But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles domineer over them, and ^[o]those in high position exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It ^[p]is not this way among you, ^(V)but whoever wants to become ^[q]prominent among you shall be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; ²⁸ just as ^(W)the Son of Man ^(X)did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His ^[r]life as a ransom for many.”

Sight for Those Who Are Blind

^29 (Y)As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰ And two people who were blind, sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, ^(Z)have mercy on us, ^(AA)Son of David!” ³¹ But the crowd sternly warned them to be quiet; yet they cried out all the more, “Lord, ^(AB)Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³² And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.