Chapter 7

¹ And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him an inheritance on every side [free] from all his enemies round about him; ² that the king said to Nathan the prophet, Behold now, I live in a house of cedar, and the ark of the Lord dwells in the midst of a tent. ³ And Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that [is] in thy heart, for the Lord [is] with thee.

2Kgdms 7:1-3

⁴ And it came to pass in that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁵ Go, and say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in. ⁶ For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt to this day, but I have been walking in a lodge and in a tent, ⁷ wheresoever I went with all Israel. Have I ever spoken to any of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to tend my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar?

2Kgdms 7:4-7

⁸ And now thus shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord Almighty, I took thee from the sheepcote, that thou shouldest be a prince over my people, over Israel. ⁹ And I was with thee wheresoever thou wentest, and I destroyed all thine enemies before thee, and I made thee renowned according to the renown of the great ones on the earth. ¹⁰ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell by themselves, and shall be no more distressed; and the son of iniquity shall no more afflict them, as he [has done] from the beginning, ¹¹ from the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel: and I will give thee rest from all thine enemies, and the Lord will tell thee that thou shalt build a house to him. ¹² And it shall come to pass when thy days shall have been fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, even thine own issue, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build for me a house to my name, and I will set up his throne even forever. ¹⁴ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. And when he happens to transgress, then will I chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men. ¹⁵ But my mercy I will not take from him, as I took it from those whom I removed from my presence. ¹⁶ And his house shall be made sure, and his kingdom forever before me, and his throne shall be set up forever.

2Kgdms 7:8-16

¹⁷ According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

2Kgdms 7:17

¹⁸ And King David came in, and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord, my Lord, and what [is] my house, that thou hast loved me hitherto? ¹⁹ Whereas I was very little before thee, O Lord, my Lord, yet thou spokest concerning the house of thy servant for a long time [to come]. And [is] this the law of man, O Lord, my Lord? ²⁰ And what shall David yet say to thee? and now thou knowest thy servant, O Lord, my Lord. ²¹ And thou hast wrought for thy servant’s sake, and according to thy heart thou hast wrought all this greatness, to make it known to thy servant, ²² that he may magnify thee, O my Lord; for there is no one like thee, and there is no God but thou among all of whom we have heard with our ears. ²³ And what other nation in the earth [is] as thy people Israel? whereas God was his guide, to redeem for himself a people to make thee a name, to do mightily and nobly, so that thou shouldest cast out nations and [their] tabernacles from the presence of thy people, whom thou didst redeem for thyself out of Egypt? ²⁴ And thou hast prepared for thyself thy people Israel to be a people forever, and thou, Lord, art become their God. ²⁵ And now, O my Lord, the Almighty Lord God of Israel, confirm the word forever which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and his house: and now as thou hast said, ²⁶ Let thy name be magnified forever. ²⁷ Almighty Lord God of Israel, thou hast uncovered the ear of thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore thy servant has found [in] his heart to pray this prayer to thee. ²⁸ And now, O Lord my Lord, thou art God; and thy words will be true, and thou hast spoken these good things concerning thy servant. ²⁹ And now begin and bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee; for thou, O Lord, my Lord, hast spoken, and the house of thy servant shall be blessed with thy blessing so as to continue forever.

2Kgdms 7:18-29