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 Gives Most

9 For ^(A)it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ^(B)ministry to the ^[a]saints; ² for I know your willingness, of which I ^(C)boast about you to the ^(D)Macedonians, namely, that ^(E)Achaia has been prepared since ^(F)last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. ³ But I have sent the brothers, in order that our ^(G)boasting about you may not prove empty in this case, so that, ^(H)as I was saying, you will be prepared; ⁴ otherwise, if any ^(I)Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to mention you—would be put to shame by this confidence. ⁵ So I considered it necessary to urge the ^(J)brothers that they go on ahead to you and arrange in advance your previously promised ^[b](K)generous gift, that the same would be ready as a ^[c](L)generous gift, and not as one grudgingly given due to greediness.

⁶ Now I say this: ^(M)the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows ^[d]generously will also reap ^[e]generously. ⁷ Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not ^(N)reluctantly or under compulsion, for ^(O)God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And ^(P)God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; ⁹ as it is written:

¹⁰ Now He who supplies ^(R)seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and ^(S)increase the harvest of your righteousness; ¹¹ you will be ^(T)enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing ^(U)thanksgiving to God. ¹² For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying ^(V)the needs of the ^[g]saints, but is also overflowing ^(W)through many thanksgivings to God. ¹³ Because of the proof given by this ^(X)ministry, they will ^(Y)glorify God for your obedience to your ^(Z)confession of the ^(AA)gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your ^[h]contribution to them and to all, ¹⁴ while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. ^15 (AB)Thanks be to God for His indescribable ^(AC)gift!

Paul Confronts the Corinthians

10 Now ^(AD)I, Paul, myself ^(AE)urge you by the ^(AF)meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who ^(AG)am ^[i]meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! ² I ask that ^(AH)when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I intend to be courageous against ^(AI)some, who regard us as if we walked ^(AJ)according to the flesh. ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle ^(AK)according to the flesh, ⁴ for the ^(AL)weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but ^[j]divinely powerful ^(AM)for the destruction of fortresses. ⁵ We are destroying arguments and all ^(AN)arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the ^(AO)obedience of Christ, ⁶ and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever ^(AP)your obedience is complete.

^7 [k](AQ)You are looking at ^[l]things as they are outwardly. ^(AR)If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, have him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, ^(AS)so too are we. ⁸ For if ^(AT)I boast somewhat ^[m]more about our ^(AU)authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame, ^9 [n]for I do not want to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters. ¹⁰ For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his ^[o]personal presence is ^(AV)unimpressive and ^(AW)his speech contemptible.” ¹¹ Have such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.

¹² For we do not presume to rank or compare ourselves with ^[p]some of those who ^(AX)commend themselves; but when they ^[q]measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they have no understanding. ¹³ But we will not boast ^(AY)beyond our measure, but ^[r](AZ)within the measure of the ^[s]domain which God assigned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you. ¹⁴ For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for ^(BA)we were the first to come even as far as you in the ^(BB)gospel of Christ; ¹⁵ not boasting ^(BC)beyond our measure, that is, in ^(BD)other people’s labors, but with the hope that as ^(BE)your faith grows, we will be, ^[t]within our ^[u]domain, ^(BF)enlarged even more by you, ¹⁶ so as to ^(BG)preach the gospel even to ^(BH)the regions beyond you, and not to boast ^[v](BI)in what has been accomplished in the domain of another. ¹⁷ But ^(BJ)the one who boasts is to boast in the Lord. ¹⁸ For it is not the one who ^(BK)commends himself that is approved, but the one ^(BL)whom the Lord commends.