1 Chronicles 17
1 After David began to live in his palace, he said to the prophet Nathan, “[It does not seem right that] I am here living in a palace made of cedar [wood], but Yahweh’s Sacred Chest is kept inside a tent!”
Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of Yhwh remaineth under curtains.
2 Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you are thinking about doing, do it, because God is with/guiding you.”
Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.
3 But that night God spoke [MTY] to Nathan. He said,
And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,
4 “Go and tell my servant David that this is what I, Yahweh, am saying to him: ‘You are not the one who should build a temple for me to live in.
Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith Yhwh, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:
5 I have not lived in any building, from the day that I brought the people of Israel up [out of Egypt] until now. Instead, I have [lived in a tent], moving from one place to another with [the Israelis] when they moved to other places [DOU].
For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.
6 Wherever I went with all the Israelis [as they traveled], I never [RHQ] said to any of their leaders whom I appointed to lead [MET] them, “Why have you not built me a temple made of cedar [wood]?”’
Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?
7 Therefore, this is what you should say to my servant David: ‘I, the Almighty Commander of the armies of angels, took you from a pasture where you were taking care of sheep, [and I appointed you] to be the ruler of my Israeli people.
Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Yhwh of Armies, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel:
8 I have (been with/helped) you wherever you have gone, and I have gotten rid of all your enemies as you advanced. And now I will cause you to become very famous, as well-known as the names of the greatest men [who have ever lived] on the earth.
And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth.
9 Formerly, during the time that I appointed leaders for my Israeli people, many violent groups oppressed them. But this will not happen any more. I have chosen a place where my Israeli people can live [peacefully] and no one will disturb them any more. I will give not allow them to [be attacked by] their enemies. And I will defeat all your enemies. I declare to you that I, Yahweh, will enable your descendants to rule after you [die].
Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,
And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that Yhwh will build thee an house.
11 When your life ends [EUP], and you [die and] go to be with your ancestors [who have died], I will appoint one of your sons to become king, and I will enable his kingdom to (be strong/resist all their enemies).
And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.
12 He is the one who will [arrange for] a temple to be built for me. And I will enable his descendants to be kings [MTY] of Israel forever.
He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.
13 I will be [like] a father to him, and [it will be as though] he [is] a son to me. I stopped loving [Saul, ] the one who was the king before you became king, but I will never stop loving your son.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:
14 I will cause him to rule over my people [MTY], and his kingdom will endure forever [DOU].’”
But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.
15 So Nathan reported to David everything that Yahweh had revealed to him.
According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
16 Then David went [into the Sacred Tent] and sat in the presence of Yahweh, and prayed this: “Yahweh my God, I am certainly not [RHQ] worthy for you to have done all these things for me, and my family is not worthy, either.
And David the king came and sat before Yhwh, and said, Who am I, O Yhwh God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
17 “And O God, now, in addition to everything else, you have spoken about what will happen to my descendants in the future for many generations. Yahweh my God, you have acted toward me as though I was the most important man [on the earth]!
And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Yhwh God.
18 “What more can I, David, say to you [for honoring me]? Although you know very well what I am like,
What can David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant.
19 Yahweh, for my sake and because it is what you wanted to do, you have done these great things [for me], and you have revealed to me these things [that you are promising to do].
O Yhwh, for thy servant’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.
20 “Yahweh, you are great. There is no one like you. Only you are God, which is what we have always heard.
O Yhwh, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
21 And there is no nation in the world like Israel [RHQ]. Israel is the only nation on the earth whose people you rescued. You performed great and awesome miracles, rescuing our ancestors from [being slaves in] Egypt, and expelling the people of other people-groups [who were in Canaan].
And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?
22 You have caused us your Israeli people to belong to you forever, and you, Yahweh, have become our God!
For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Yhwh, becamest their God.
23 “And now Yahweh, I pray that you will cause the things that you have promised to do for me and my descendants [MTY] to be fulfilled forever.
Therefore now, Yhwh, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.
24 When that happens, you [MTY] will be famous forever. And people will exclaim, ‘The Almighty Commander of the armies of angels, is the God who rules Israel!’ And you will cause that forever there will be descendants [MTY] of mine who will rule.
Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, Yhwh of Armies is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.
25 “You, my God, have revealed to me that you will cause [some of] my descendants to become kings. So I am brave enough to pray like this to you.
For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.
26 Yahweh, you are God! You have promised to do these good things for me.
And now, Yhwh, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
27 And now you, Yahweh, have [promised to] bless my descendants [MTY], in order that they will continue to rule forever. That will happen because you, Yahweh, are the one who has blessed them, and you will keep blessing them forever.”
Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O Yhwh, and it shall be blessed for ever.
