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David’s Prayer of Thanks

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed,

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And now, Sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord?[a]

20 “What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign Lord. 21 Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant.

22 “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! 23 What other nation on earth is like your people Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own people? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations and gods that stood in their way.[b] 24 You made Israel your very own people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.

25 “And now, O Lord God, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever. 26 And may your name be honored forever so that everyone will say, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over Israel!’ And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever.

27 “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, I have been bold enough to pray this prayer to you because you have revealed all this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings!’ 28 For you are God, O Sovereign Lord. Your words are truth, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 And now, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you have spoken, and when you grant a blessing to your servant, O Sovereign Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”

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Footnotes

  1. 7:19 Or This is your instruction for all humanity, O Sovereign Lord.
  2. 7:23 As in Greek version (see also 1 Chr 17:21); Hebrew reads You made a name for yourself and awesome miracles for your land in the sight of your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt, the nations and their gods.

David Magnifies Yahweh’s Name

18 Then David the king went in and sat before Yahweh, and he said, “(A)Who am I, O Lord Yahweh, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord Yahweh, (B)for You have spoken also of the house of Your slave concerning the distant future. And (C)this is the law of man, O Lord Yahweh. 20 And again what more can David say to You? And (D)You know Your slave, O Lord Yahweh! 21 (E)For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness to let Your slave know. 22 For this reason (F)You are great, O Lord Yahweh; for (G)there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, (H)according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And (I)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 (J)to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before (K)Your people whom (L)You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods? 24 Yet (M)You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and (N)You, O Yahweh, have become their God. 25 So now, O Yahweh God, the word that You have spoken concerning Your slave and concerning his house, establish it forever, and do as You have spoken, 26 (O)that Your name may be magnified forever, by saying, ‘Yahweh of hosts is God over Israel’; and the house of Your [a]servant David shall be established before You. 27 For You, O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed in the hearing of Your slave, saying, ‘(P)I will build you a house’; therefore Your slave has found courage in his heart to pray this prayer to You. 28 So now, O Lord Yahweh, You are God, and (Q)Your words are truth, and You have [b]promised this good thing to Your slave. 29 So now, be pleased and bless the house of Your slave, that it may be forever before You. For You, O Lord Yahweh, have spoken; and (R)with Your blessing may the house of Your slave be blessed forever.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 7:26 Or slave, cf. 7:25; see Foreword, “The Terminology of Slave”
  2. 2 Samuel 7:28 Or spoken