1 Chronicles 17

Godʼs Covenant with Davidⓘ

David wants to build a house for God¹After David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”

²And Nathan replied to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴“Go and tell My servant David that this is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build Me a house in which to dwell. ⁵For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt^a until this day, but I have moved from tent to tent and dwelling to dwelling. ⁶In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders^b I appointed to shepherd My people, ‘Why havenʼt you built Me a house of cedar?’

God recalls what he has done for David⁷Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the Lord of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel. ⁸I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like that of the greatest in the land.

⁹And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more. No longer will the sons of wickedness oppress them as they did at the beginning ¹⁰and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies.

Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you. The promise of a lasting dynasty¹¹And when your days are fulfilled and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹²He will build a house for Me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³I will be his Father, and he will be My son. And I will never remove My loving devotion from him as I removed it from your predecessor. ¹⁴But I will set him over My house and My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.”

¹⁵So Nathan relayed to David all the words of this entire revelation.

Davidʼs Prayer of Thanksgivingⓘ

David's prayer of wonder¹⁶Then King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁷And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God, You have spoken about the future of the house of Your servant and have regarded me as a man of great distinction,^c O Lord God. ¹⁸What more can David say to You for so honoring Your servant? For You know Your servant, ¹⁹O Lord.^d For the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and make know all these great promises.

²⁰O Lord, there is none like You, and there is no God but You, according to everything we have heard with our own ears. ²¹And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself? You made a name for Yourself through great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed from Egypt. ²²For You have made Your people Israel Your very own forever, and You, O Lord, have become their God.

David asks God to confirm his promise²³And now, O Lord, let the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house be established forever. Do as You have promised, ²⁴so that Your name will be established and magnified forever when it is said, ‘The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, is God over Israel.’ And may the house of Your servant David be established before You. ²⁵For You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build a house for him. Therefore Your servant has found the courage to pray before You.

²⁶And now, O Lord, You are God! And You have promised this goodness to Your servant. ²⁷So now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”