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1
Chronicles Chapter Seventeen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 17
This
chapter contains an account of David's intention to build an house for God,
which, he signified to Nathan the prophet, who first encouraged him to it; but
afterwards was sent by the Lord to him with an order to desist from it, assuring
him, at the same time, that his son should build it, and that his own house and
kingdom should be established for ever; for which David expressed great
thankfulness, the whole of which is related in 2 Samuel 7:1 with
some little variation, see the notes there; only one thing has since occurred,
which I would just take notice of, that here, 1 Chronicles 17:5
as there also, it is said by the Lord, that he had "not dwelt in an house
since the day he brought up Israel out of Egypt"; which seems to suggest
that he had dwelt in one before, as has been hinted on 2 Samuel 7:6 even
while the people of Israel were in Egypt, though it is nowhere mentioned by
Moses, or any other writer; yet it is not unreasonable to suppose it; for as
the ancestors of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when only
travellers from place to place, built altars for God wherever they came; so
their posterity, it is highly probable, not only did the same, but when they
found themselves settled in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, might build places of
worship; and when we consider the wealth of Joseph, and his family, and indeed
of all Israel, who enjoyed for many years great plenty, prosperity, and
liberty, before their servitude, the vast numbers they increased to and the
long continuance of them in Egypt, more than two hundred years; it will not
seem strange that they should build houses for religious worship, and even one
grand and splendid for public service, to which also they might be led by the
example of the Egyptians; who, as Herodotus saysF9, were the first
that erected altars, images, and temples to the gods, and who in the times of
Joseph had one at On, where his father-in-law officiated as priest, Genesis 41:45 or
rather to this they might be directed by some hints and instructions of their
father Jacob before his death, who it is certain had a notion of a Bethel, an
house for the public worship of God, Genesis 28:17 and I
find a learned manF11Dickinson. Physic. vet. & vera, c. 19.
sect. 24. of our own nation of this opinion, and which he founds upon this
passage; and he supposes the house God dwelt in, in Egypt, was not a tent of
goats' hair, as in the wilderness, but a structure of stones or bricks, a firm
and stable house, such an one as Abraham built at Damascus when settled there;
which continued to the times of Augustus Caesar, as related by Nicholas of
DamascusF12Apud. Joseph. Antiqu. l. 1. c. 7. sect. 2. . See 2 Samuel 7:1.cf13
(i) Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 4.
1 Chronicles
17:1 Now it came to
pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the
prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of
the Lord
is under tent curtains.”
YLT
1And it cometh to pass as
David sat in his house, that David saith unto Nathan the prophet, `Lo, I am
dwelling in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah [is]
under curtains;'
Verses 1-27
See
Chapter Introduction
1 Chronicles 17:2 2 Then Nathan said to David,
“Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
YLT
2and Nathan saith unto
David, `All that [is] in thy heart do, for God [is] with thee.'
1 Chronicles 17:3 3 But it happened that night
that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,
YLT
3And it cometh to pass on
that night that a word of God is unto Nathan, saying,
1 Chronicles 17:4 4 “Go and tell My servant
David, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“You shall not build Me a house to dwell in.
YLT
4`Go, and thou hast said
unto David My servant, Thus said Jehovah, Thou dost not build for Me the house
to dwell in:
1 Chronicles 17:5 5 For I have not dwelt in a
house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone
from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.
YLT
5for I have not dwelt in a
house from the day that I brought up Israel till this day, and I am from tent
unto tent: and from the tabernacle,
1 Chronicles 17:6 6 Wherever I have moved
about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel,
whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a
house of cedar–’”’
YLT
6whithersoever I have walked
up and down among all Israel, a word spake I, with one of the judges of Israel,
whom I commanded to feed My people, saying, Why have ye not built for Me a
house of cedars?
1 Chronicles 17:7 7 Now therefore, thus shall
you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I
took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My
people Israel.
YLT
7`And now, thus dost thou
say to My servant, to David, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have taken thee from
the habitation, from after the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel,
1 Chronicles 17:8 8 And I have been with you
wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and
have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the
earth.
YLT
8and I am with thee
whithersoever thou hast walked, and I cut off all thine enemies from thy
presence, and have made for thee a name like the name of the great ones who
[are] in the earth.
1 Chronicles 17:9 9 Moreover I will appoint a
place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place
of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them
anymore, as previously,
YLT
9`And I have prepared a
place for My people Israel, and planted it, and it hath dwelt in its place, and
is not troubled any more, and the sons of perverseness add not to wear it out
as at first,
1 Chronicles 17:10 10 since the time that I
commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all
your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the Lord will build you
a house.[a]
YLT
10yea, even from the days
that I appointed judges over My people Israel. `And I have humbled all thine
enemies, and I declare to thee that a house doth Jehovah build for thee,
1 Chronicles 17:11 11 And it shall be, when your
days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I
will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish
his kingdom.
YLT
11and it hath come to pass,
when thy days have been fulfilled to go with thy fathers, that I have raised up
thy seed after thee, who is of thy sons, and I have established his kingdom,
1 Chronicles 17:12 12 He shall build Me a house,
and I will establish his throne forever.
YLT
12he doth build for Me a
house, and I have established his throne unto the age;
1 Chronicles 17:13 13 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 who was before you.
YLT
13I am to him for a father,
and he is to Me for a son, and My kindness I turn not aside from him as I
turned it aside from him who was before thee,
1 Chronicles 17:14 14 And I will establish him
in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established
forever.”’”
YLT
14and I have established him
in My house, and in My kingdom unto the age, and his throne is established unto
the age.'
1 Chronicles 17:15 15 According to all these
words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
YLT
15According to all these
words, and according to all this vision, so spake Nathan unto David.
1 Chronicles 17:16 16 Then King David went in
and sat before the Lord;
and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my
house, that You have brought me this far?
YLT
16And David the king cometh
in and sitteth before Jehovah, and saith, `Who [am] I, O Jehovah God, and what
my house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto?
1 Chronicles 17:17 17 And yet this was a
small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s
house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of
a man of high degree, O Lord
God.
YLT
17And this is small in Thine
eyes, O God, and Thou speakest concerning the house of thy servant afar off,
and hast seen me as a type of the man who is on high, O Jehovah God!
1 Chronicles 17:18 18 What more can David say
to You for the honor of Your servant? For You know Your servant.
YLT
18`What doth David add more
unto Thee for the honour of Thy servant; and Thou Thy servant hast known.
1 Chronicles 17:19 19 O Lord, for Your
servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this
greatness, in making known all these great things.
YLT
19O Jehovah, for Thy
servant's sake, and according to Thine own heart Thou hast done all this
greatness, to make known all these great things.
1 Chronicles 17:20 20 O Lord, there is
none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that
we have heard with our ears.
YLT
20O Jehovah, there is none
like Thee, and there is no god save Thee, according to all that we have heard
with our ears.
1 Chronicles 17:21 21 And who is like
Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for
Himself as a people—to make for Yourself a name by great and awesome
deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from
Egypt?
YLT
21`And who [is] as Thy people
Israel, one nation in the earth whom God hath gone to ransom to Him for a
people, to make for Thee a name great and fearful, to cast out from the
presence of Thy people whom Thou hast ransomed out of Egypt -- nations?
1 Chronicles 17:22 22 For You have made Your
people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, Lord, have become
their God.
YLT
22Yea, Thou dost appoint Thy
people Israel to Thee for a people unto the age, and Thou, O Jehovah, hast been
to them for God.
1 Chronicles 17:23 23 “And now, O Lord, the word
which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, let
it be established forever, and do as You have said.
YLT
23`And now, O Jehovah, the
word that Thou hast spoken concerning Thy servant, and concerning his house,
let be stedfast unto the age, and do as Thou hast spoken;
1 Chronicles 17:24 24 So let it be established,
that Your name may be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel, is Israel’s God.’ And let the house of Your servant David
be established before You.
YLT
24and let it be stedfast, and
Thy name is great unto the age, saying, Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, is God
to Israel, and the house of Thy servant David is established before Thee;
1 Chronicles 17:25 25 For You, O my God, have
revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore Your
servant has found it in his heart to pray before You.
YLT
25for Thou, O my God, Thou
hast uncovered the ear of Thy servant -- to build to him a house, therefore
hath Thy servant found to pray before Thee.
1 Chronicles 17:26 26 And now, Lord, You are God,
and have promised this goodness to Your servant.
YLT
26`And now, Jehovah, Thou
[art] God Himself, and Thou speakest concerning Thy servant this goodness;
1 Chronicles 17:27 27 Now You have been pleased
to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever;
for You have blessed it, O Lord, and it shall be
blessed forever.”
YLT
27and now, Thou hast been
pleased to bless the house of Thy servant, to be to the age before Thee; for
Thou, O Jehovah, hast blessed, and it is blessed to the age.'
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)