2 Samuel 7

The Lord Establishes a Covenant with David

7:1 The king settled into his palace,¹ for the Lord gave him relief² from all his enemies on all sides.³ 7:2 The king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of God sits in the middle of a tent.” 7:3 Nathan replied to the king, “You should go⁴ and do whatever you have in mind,⁵ for the Lord is with you.” 7:4 That night the Lord told Nathan,⁶ 7:5 “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in? 7:6 I have not lived in a house from the time I brought the Israelites up from Egypt to the present day. Instead, I was traveling with them and living in a tent.⁷ 7:7 Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say⁸ to any of the leaders⁹ whom I appointed to care for¹⁰ my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?”’

7:8 “So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd¹¹ to make you leader of my people Israel. 7:9 I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated¹² all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth.¹³ 7:10 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle¹⁴ them there; they will live there and not be disturbed¹⁵ any more. Violent men¹⁶ will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning 7:11 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief¹⁷ from all your enemies. The Lord declares¹⁸ to you that he himself¹⁹ will build a dynastic house²⁰ for you. 7:12 When the time comes for you to die,²¹ I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you,²² and I will establish his kingdom. 7:13 He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent.²³ 7:14 I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings. 7:15 But my loyal love will not be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 7:16 Your house and your kingdom will stand before me²⁴ permanently; your dynasty²⁵ will be permanent.’” 7:17 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him.²⁶

David Offers a Prayer to God

7:18 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family,²⁷ that you should have brought me to this point? 7:19 And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family.²⁸ Is this your usual way of dealing with men,²⁹ O Lord God? 7:20 What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition,³⁰ O Lord God! 7:21 For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose³¹ you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant.³² 7:22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true!³³ 7:23 Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation³⁴ on the earth? Their God³⁵ went³⁶ to claim³⁷ a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land,³⁸ before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods.³⁹ 7:24 You made Israel your very own people for all time.⁴⁰ You, O Lord, became their God. 7:25 So now, O Lord God, make this promise you have made about your servant and his family a permanent reality.⁴¹ Do as you promised,⁴² 7:26 so you may gain lasting fame,⁴³ as people say,⁴⁴ ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel!’ The dynasty⁴⁵ of your servant David will be established before you, 7:27 for you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have told⁴⁶ your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’⁴⁷ That is why your servant has had the courage⁴⁸ to pray this prayer to you. 7:28 Now, O sovereign Lord, you are the true God!⁴⁹ May your words prove to be true!⁵⁰ You have made this good promise to your servant!⁵¹ 7:29 Now be willing to bless your servant’s dynasty⁵² so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant’s dynasty be blessed on into the future!”⁵³

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