One Year Bible.

God’s Covenant with David

¹After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, ²he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

³And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

⁴But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, ⁵“Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build for Me a house to dwell in? ⁶For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling. ⁷In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leaders I appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’

⁸Now 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. ⁹I 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.

¹⁰And 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 ¹¹and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies.

The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you. ¹²And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴I will be his Father, and he will be My son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

¹⁵But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”

¹⁷So Nathan relayed to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving

¹⁸Then 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? ¹⁹And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O Lord GOD? ²⁰What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD. ²¹For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.

²²How great You are, O Lord GOD! For there is none like You, and there is no God but You, according to everything we have heard with our own ears. ²³And who is like Your people Israel — the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt. ²⁴For You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God.

²⁵And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised, ²⁶so that Your name will be magnified forever when it is said, ‘The LORD of Hosts is God over Israel.’ And the house of Your servant David will be established before You. ²⁷For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’ Therefore Your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to You.

²⁸And now, O Lord GOD, You are God! Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. ²⁹Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”

God’s Covenant with David

¹After 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 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 I appointed to shepherd My people, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’

⁷Now 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. ¹¹And 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.

David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving

¹⁶Then 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, O LORD God. ¹⁸What more can David say to You for honoring Your servant? For You know Your servant, ¹⁹O LORD. For the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and made known 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.

²³And 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.”

Elihu Recalls God’s Justice

¹And Elihu went on to say:

²“Do you think this is just?

You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’

³For you ask, ‘What does it profit me,

and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’

⁴I will reply to you

and to your friends as well.

⁵Look to the heavens and see;

gaze at the clouds high above you.

⁶If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him?

If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him?

⁷If you are righteous, what do you give Him,

or what does He receive from your hand?

⁸Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,

and your righteousness only a son of man.

⁹Men cry out under great oppression;

they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.

¹⁰But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker,

who gives us songs in the night,

¹¹who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth

and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’

¹²There they cry out, but He does not answer,

because of the pride of evil men.

¹³Surely God does not listen to empty pleas,

and the Almighty does not take note of it.

¹⁴How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him,

that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,

¹⁵and further, that in His anger He has not punished

or taken much notice of folly!

¹⁶So Job opens his mouth in vain

and multiplies words without knowledge.”

Elihu Describes God’s Power

¹And Elihu continued:

²“Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you

that there is more to be said on God’s behalf.

³I get my knowledge from afar,

and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.

⁴For truly my words are free of falsehood;

one perfect in knowledge is with you.

⁵Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one;

He is mighty in strength of understanding.

⁶He does not keep the wicked alive,

but He grants justice to the afflicted.

⁷He does not take His eyes off the righteous,

but He enthrones them with kings

and exalts them forever.

⁸And if men are bound with chains,

caught in cords of affliction,

⁹then He tells them their deeds

and how arrogantly they have transgressed.

¹⁰He opens their ears to correction

and commands that they turn from iniquity.

¹¹If they obey and serve Him,

then they end their days in prosperity

and their years in happiness.

¹²But if they do not obey,

then they perish by the sword

and die without knowledge.

¹³The godless in heart harbor resentment;

even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.

¹⁴They die in their youth,

among the male shrine prostitutes.

¹⁵God rescues the afflicted by their affliction

and opens their ears in oppression.

¹⁶Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress

to a spacious and broad place,

to a table full of richness.

¹⁷But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;

judgment and justice have seized you.

¹⁸Be careful that no one lures you with riches;

do not let a large bribe lead you astray.

¹⁹Can your wealth or all your mighty effort

keep you from distress?

²⁰Do not long for the night,

when people vanish from their homes.

²¹Be careful not to turn to iniquity,

for this you have preferred to affliction.

²²Behold, God is exalted in His power.

Who is a teacher like Him?

²³Who has appointed His way for Him,

or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?

²⁴Remember to magnify His work,

which men have praised in song.

²⁵All mankind has seen it;

men behold it from afar.

²⁶Indeed, God is great — beyond our knowledge;

the number of His years is unsearchable.

²⁷For He draws up drops of water

which distill the rain from the mist,

²⁸which the clouds pour out

and shower abundantly on mankind.

²⁹Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out,

how the thunder roars from His pavilion?

³⁰See how He scatters His lightning around Him

and covers the depths of the sea.

³¹For by these He judges the nations

and provides food in abundance.

³²He fills His hands with lightning

and commands it to strike its mark.

³³The thunder declares His presence;

even the cattle regard the rising storm.[’’]