2 Samuel 7 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his enemies,
1 When the king lived in his house, and Yahweh had given him rest from all his enemies all around,
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains.
2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but God’s ark dwells within curtains.”
3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for Yahweh is with you.”
4 And it came to pass that night that the word of Jehovah came to Nathan, saying,
4 That same night, Yahweh’s word came to Nathan, saying,
5 Go and say to my servant, to David, Thus saith Jehovah: Wilt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Yahweh says, “Should you build me a house for me to dwell in?
6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle.
6 For I have not lived in a house since the day that I brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt, even to this day, but have moved around in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7 In all my going about with all the children of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye me not a house of cedars?
7 In all places in which I have walked with all the children of Israel, did I say a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”’
8 And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel;
8 Now therefore tell my servant David this: ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “I took you from the sheep pen, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel.
9 and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth.
9 I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth.
10 And I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly,
10 I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be moved no more. The children of wickedness will not afflict them any more, as at the first,
11 and since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I have given thee rest from all thine enemies; and Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house.
11 and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. I will cause you to rest from all your enemies. Moreover Yahweh tells you that Yahweh will make you a house.
12 When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up your offspring after you, who will proceed out of your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
13 He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men;
14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men;
15 but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before thee.
15 but my loving kindness will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you.
16 And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made firm for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
16 Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you. Your throne will be established forever.”’”
17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.
17 Nathan spoke to David all these words, and according to all this vision.
18 And king David went in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, Lord Jehovah, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
18 Then David the king went in and sat before Yahweh; and he said, “Who am I, Lord Yahweh, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far?
19 And yet this hath been a small thing in thy sight, Lord Jehovah; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, Lord Jehovah?
19 This was yet a small thing in your eyes, Lord Yahweh, but you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come; and this among men, Lord Yahweh!
20 And what can David say more to thee? for thou, Lord Jehovah, knowest thy servant.
20 What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Lord Yahweh.
21 For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make thy servant know [it].
21 For your word’s sake, and according to your own heart, you have worked all this greatness, to make your servant know it.
22 Wherefore thou art great, Jehovah Elohim; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
22 Therefore you are great, Yahweh God. For there is no one like you, neither is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
23 And who is like thy people, like Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, and to make himself a name, and to do for them great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thyself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
23 What one nation on the earth is like your people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem to himself for a people, and to make himself a name, and to do great things for you, and awesome things for your land, before your people, whom you redeemed to yourself out of Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
24 And thou hast established to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever; and thou, Jehovah, art become their God.
24 You established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever; and you, Yahweh, became their God.
25 And now, Jehovah Elohim, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house, fulfil it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
25 “Now, Yahweh God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant, and concerning his house, confirm it forever, and do as you have spoken.
26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is God over Israel; and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
26 Let your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies is God over Israel; and the house of your servant David will be established before you.’
27 For thou, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
27 For you, Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, have revealed to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found in his heart to pray this prayer to you.
28 And now, Lord Jehovah, thou art that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant;
28 “Now, O Lord Yahweh, you are God, and your words are truth, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.
29 and now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou, Lord Jehovah, hast spoken it; and with thy blessing shall the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
29 Now therefore, let it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you; for you, Lord Yahweh, have spoken it. Let the house of your servant be blessed forever with your blessing.”
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
David
The shepherd who became Israel's greatest king and a man after God's own heart.
Cited in the guide: 1 Sam. 16 - 1 Kings 2; 2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 2:15; Matt. 1:6
Nathan
The prophet to whom David confided his wish to build a house for the ark, who carried the LORD's promise of an enduring house to David, rebuked him with the parable of the ewe…
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 7:2; 2 Samuel 7:4; 2 Samuel 12:1
Cross references (29)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Proverbs 16:7; Luke 1:74–75; 1 Kings 5:4; 2 Chronicles 14:6; Daniel 4:29–30
- 2 2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Chronicles 16:1; 2 Samuel 12:1; Acts 7:46; Haggai 1:4
- 3 1 Chronicles 22:7; 1 Kings 8:17–18; 1 Chronicles 28:2; 2 Kings 4:27; Psalm 37:4
- 4 1 Chronicles 17:3; Numbers 12:6; Amos 3:7
- 5 1 Kings 5:3–4; 1 Chronicles 22:7–8; 1 Chronicles 23:3–32; 1 Kings 8:16–19; 1 Chronicles 17:4
- 6 1 Kings 8:16; Joshua 18:1; Exodus 40:18–19; Exodus 40:34–38; Deuteronomy 23:14
- 7 1 Chronicles 17:6; 2 Samuel 5:2; Leviticus 26:11–12; John 21:15–17; Psalm 78:71–72
- 8 Psalm 78:70–71; 1 Samuel 16:11–12; 2 Samuel 6:21; 1 Chronicles 17:7; 2 Samuel 12:7
- 9 2 Samuel 5:10; 1 Chronicles 17:8; 2 Samuel 8:6; 1 Samuel 18:14; Psalm 18:37–42
- 10 Amos 9:15; 1 Chronicles 17:9; Jeremiah 24:6; Isaiah 60:18; Ezekiel 37:25–27
- 11 2 Samuel 7:27; 1 Samuel 12:9–11; Judges 2:14–16; 2 Samuel 7:1; Psalm 89:3–4
- 12 Acts 2:30; 1 Kings 2:1; 1 Kings 8:20; Psalm 132:11–12; Acts 13:36
- 13 Luke 1:31–33; 1 Kings 8:19; 1 Kings 5:5; 2 Samuel 7:16; Psalm 89:4
- 14 Hebrews 1:5; Revelation 3:19; 1 Chronicles 28:6; 1 Chronicles 17:13; Deuteronomy 8:5
- 15 1 Samuel 15:23; 1 Samuel 15:28; Psalm 89:28; Isaiah 9:7; 1 Kings 11:13
- 16 Luke 1:32–33; Psalm 89:36–37; 2 Samuel 7:13; Isaiah 9:7; Daniel 2:44
- 17 1 Chronicles 17:15; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Acts 20:20; Acts 20:27
- 18 Psalm 8:4; 1 Chronicles 17:16; 1 Samuel 18:18; Genesis 32:10; Exodus 3:11
- 19 Isaiah 55:8–9; 1 Chronicles 17:17; Psalm 36:7; 2 Samuel 7:11–16; 2 Samuel 12:8
- 20 1 Samuel 16:7; John 21:17; Psalm 139:1; Revelation 2:23; Hebrews 4:13
- 21 Psalm 138:2; Psalm 115:1; Ephesians 3:11; Luke 12:32; Ephesians 1:9
- 22 Psalm 86:10; Exodus 15:11; Psalm 86:8; 1 Chronicles 16:25; Micah 7:18
- 23 Deuteronomy 9:26; Deuteronomy 10:21; Psalm 147:20; Nehemiah 1:10; Deuteronomy 15:15
- 24 Deuteronomy 26:18; 1 Peter 2:10; Psalm 48:14; Jeremiah 31:33; Isaiah 12:2
- 25 Psalm 119:49; Ezekiel 36:37; Genesis 32:12; Jeremiah 11:4–5
- 26 1 Chronicles 17:23–24; Psalm 72:18–19; Matthew 6:9; John 12:28; 1 Chronicles 29:10–13
- 27 1 Chronicles 17:25–26; Psalm 10:17; Ruth 4:4; 1 Samuel 9:15; Psalm 40:6
- 28 John 17:17; Numbers 23:19; Exodus 34:6; Titus 1:2
- 29 Numbers 6:24–26; 1 Chronicles 17:27; Psalm 115:12–15; 2 Samuel 22:51
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
And his house shall be faithful, and his kingdom even for evermore before me, and his throne shall be set up even for evermore." He who thinks this grand promise was fulfilled in Solomon greatly errs; for he attends to the saying, "He shall build me an house," but he does not attend to the saying, "His house shall be …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
For there, that is, in the Book of Samuel, he says, "And if he commit iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men; but my mercy will I not take away from him," meaning by stripes the strokes of correction.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Therefore David understanding this, says in the second Book of Kings, in the passage from which we digressed to this psalm, "Thou hast spoken also for Thy servant's house for a great while to come." Therefore also a little after he says, "Now begin, and bless the house of Thy servant for evermore," etc., because the son was then about …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)