- 2 Samuel
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7
What God promised David
1 After King David began to live in his palace, Yahweh protected him from all his enemies. 2 One day he said to the prophet Nathan, “ It is not right that I am here, living in a beautiful house made of cedar wood, but the chest that contains God's Ten Commandments is kept in a tent!”
3 Then Nathan said to the king, “Yahweh is helping/directing you, so do about that box whatever you are thinking.”
4 But that night, Yahweh said to Nathan,
5 “Go and tell my servant, David, that this is what I, Yahweh, am saying to him: ‘You are not the one [RHQ] who will build a temple/house for me to live in. 6 I have not lived in any building from the time when I rescued the Israeli people from Egypt until now. Instead, I have been living in a tent as the Israeli people traveled around. 7 In all the places where I went with the Israeli people as they traveled, I never said [RHQ] to any of their leaders whom I appointed to lead them, “Why have you not built me a temple made of cedar?” ’
8 So this is what you should say to my servant David: ‘Yahweh Almighty says that he took you from taking care of sheep in the fields, and appointed you to become the ruler of his Israeli people. 9 And he says this: “I have helped/guided you wherever you went. I have gotten rid of all your enemies who were in front of you. I will enable you to become very famous, as famous as the names of all the great leaders in the world. 10-11 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 them rest from being attacked by their enemies. Furthermore, I, Yahweh, declare that many of your descendants will be kings.
12 When you die [EUP] and are buried where ◄your ancestors are buried/people buried your ancestors►, I will appoint one of your sons to be king, and I will cause him to be very powerful king. 13 He is the one who will build a temple/house for me [MTY], and I will cause his descendants to rule from the throne in Israel forever. 14 I will be like a father to him, and he will be like a son to me [MET]. When he does something that is wrong, I will punish him as fathers punish their sons. 15 But I will not stop faithfully loving him as I stopped loving Saul, whom I removed from being king before you became king. 16 Your descendants will rule the kingdom of Israel forever. Their rule will never end [DOU].” ’ ”
17 Then Nathan told David everything that Yahweh had told him.
David gave thanks to God
18 Then David went into the Sacred Tent and sat in the presence of Yahweh, and this is what he prayed:
“O Yahweh, my God, I am not worthy [RHQ] of all the things that you have done for me, and my family is not worthy, either.
19 But now, O Yahweh my God, you are saying that what you have done for me is not enough; you want to do more for me. You have told me what my descendants will do during many future years, for many generations.
20 O Yahweh God, you know me well. And there is nothing more that I can ask you to do for me. [RHQ] 21 You have done all these great things to teach me, and you have done them just because you wanted to do them and because you decided to do them.
22 O Yahweh my God, you are great. There is no one like you. Only you are God, just as we have always heard. 23 And there is no other nation in the world like Israel, the nation whose people you rescued from being slaves in Egypt. [RHQ] By the great and awesome things that you did, you have become famous/well-known throughout the world. As your people advanced through this land, you expelled other people-groups who worshiped other gods. 24 And you made us Israeli people to be your people forever, and you, Yahweh, have become our God.
25 And now, Yahweh my God, I pray that you will fulfill forever the things that you promised to me about my descendants, and that you will do the things that you said that you would do. 26 Then you will become famous forever, and people will always say, ‘Yahweh, the Almighty One, is the God who rules Israel.’ And you will cause that forever there will be descendants of mine who will rule.
27 Yahweh Almighty, the God whom we Israeli people worship, you have revealed to me that you will make some of my descendants kings. For that reason, I have been brave enough to pray like this to you. 28 So now, O Yahweh Almighty, because you are God, we can trust that you will do what you promise. You have promised these good things to me. 29 So now I ask you that if it pleases you, you will bless my descendants, in order that they may continue to serve/obey you forever. Yahweh God, you have promised these things, and so I know that if you do these things, you will keep blessing my descendants forever.”

- 2 Samuel
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- 7
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Note: The Old Testament in this translation is still being worked on, and is in draft form. Updates will be posted at eBible.org/t4t/.

© 2008-2017 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.