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Selected Verse: 2 Samuel 7:18 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
2Sa 7:18	King James	Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
DAVID'S PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING. (Sa2 7:18-29) Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord--Sitting was anciently an attitude for worship (Exo 17:12; Sa1 4:13; Kg1 19:4). As to the particular attitude David sat, most probably, upon his heels. It was the posture of the ancient Egyptians before the shrines; it is the posture of deepest respect before a superior in the East. Persons of highest dignity sit thus when they do sit in the presence of kings and it is the only sitting attitude assumed by the modern Mohammedans in their places and rites of devotion.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

DAVID'S PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING. (Sa2 7:18-29)

Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord--Sitting was anciently an attitude for worship (Exo 17:12; Sa1 4:13; Kg1 19:4). As to the particular attitude David sat, most probably, upon his heels. It was the posture of the ancient Egyptians before the shrines; it is the posture of deepest respect before a superior in the East. Persons of highest dignity sit thus when they do sit in the presence of kings and it is the only sitting attitude assumed by the modern Mohammedans in their places and rites of devotion.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Sat before the Lord - In the tent where the ark was. Standing or kneeling was the usual attitude of prayer (Kg1 8:22, Kg1 8:54-55; but compare Exo 17:12). Modern commentators mostly take the word here in the sense of waiting, abiding, not sitting: but sat is the natural rendering. David sat down to meditate, and then rose up to pray.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
David's prayer and thanksgiving. - Sa2 7:18. King David came, i.e., went into the sanctuary erected upon Zion, and remained before Jehovah. ישׁב, remained, tarried (as in Gen 24:55; Gen 29:19, etc.), not "sat;" for the custom of sitting before the Lord in the sanctuary, as the posture assumed in prayer, cannot be deduced from Exo 17:12, where Moses is compelled to sit from simple exhaustion. David's prayer consists of two parts - thanksgiving for the promise (Sa2 7:18-24), and supplication for its fulfilment (Sa2 7:25-29). The thanksgiving consists of a confession of unworthiness of all the great things that the Lord had hitherto done for him, and which He had still further increased by this glorious promise (Sa2 7:18-21), and praise to the Lord that all this had been done in proof of His true Deity, and to glorify His name upon His chosen people Israel. Sa2 7:18. "Who am I, O Lord Jehovah? and who my house (i.e., my family), that Thou hast brought me hitherto?" These words recall Jacob's prayer in Gen 32:10, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies," etc. David acknowledged himself to be unworthy of the great mercy which the Lord had displayed towards him, that he might give the glory to God alone (vid., Psa 8:5 and Psa 144:3). Sa2 7:19 "And this is still too little in Thine eyes, O Lord Jehovah, and Thou still speakest with regard to the house of Thy servant for a great while to come." למרחוק, lit. that which points to a remote period, i.e., that of the eternal establishment of my house and throne. "And this is the law of man, O Lord Jehovah." "The law of man" is the law which determines ore regulates the conduct of man. Hence the meaning of these words, which have been very differently interpreted, cannot, with the context immediately preceding it, be any other than the following: This - namely, the love and condescension manifested in Thy treatment of Thy servant - is the law which applies to man, or is conformed to the law which men are to observe towards men, i.e., to the law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Lev 19:18, compare Mic 6:8). With this interpretation, which is confirmed by the parallel text of the Chronicles (in Sa2 7:17), "Thou sawest (i.e., visitedst me, or didst deal with me) according to the manner of man," that words are expressive of praise of the condescending grace of the Lord. "When God the Lord, in His treatment of poor mortals, follows the rule which He has laid down for the conduct of men one towards another, when He shows himself kind and affectionate, this must fill with adoring amazement those who know themselves and God" (Hengstenberg). Luther is wrong in the rendering which he has adopted: "This is the manner of a man, who is God the Lord;" for "Lord Jehovah" is not an explanatory apposition to "man," but an address to God, as in the preceding and following clause. Sa2 7:20 "And what more shall David speak to Thee? Thou knowest Thy servant, Lord Jehovah." Instead of expressing his gratitude still further in many words, David appeals to the omniscience of God, before whom his thankful heart lies open, just as in Psa 40:10 (compare also Psa 17:3). Sa2 7:21-22 "For Thy word's sake, and according to Thy heart (and therefore not because I am worthy of such grace), has Thou done all this greatness, to make it known to Thy servant." The word, for the sake of which God had done such great things for David, must be some former promise on the part of God. Hengstenberg supposes it to refer to the word of the Lord to Samuel, "Rise up and anoint him" (Sa1 16:12), which is apparently favoured indeed by the parallel in the corresponding text of Ch1 17:19, "for Thy servant's sake," i.e., because Thou hast chosen Thy servant. But even this variation must contain some special allusion which does not exclude a general interpretation of the expression "for Thy word's sake," viz., an allusion to the earlier promises of God, or the Messianic prophecies generally, particularly the one concerning Judah in Jacob's blessing (Gen 49:10), and the one relating to the ruler out of Jacob in Balaam's sayings (Num 24:17.), which contain the germs of the promise of the everlasting continuance of David's government. For the fact that David recognised the connection between the promise of God communicated to him by Nathan and Jacob's prophecy in Gen 49:10, is evident from Ch1 28:4, where he refers to his election as king as being the consequence of the election of Judah as ruler. "According to Thine own heart" is equivalent to "according to Thy love and grace; for God is gracious, merciful, and of great kindness and truth" (Exo 34:6, compare Psa 103:8). גּדוּלה does not mean great things, but greatness. The praise of God commences in Sa2 7:22 : "wherefore Thou art great, Jehovah God; and there is not (one) like Thee, and no God beside Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears." By the word "wherefore," i.e., because Thou hast done this, the praise of the singleness of God is set forth as the result of David's own experience. God is great when He manifests the greatness of His grace to men, and brings them to acknowledge it. And in these great deeds He proves the incomparable nature of His Deity, or that He alone is the true God. (For the fact itself, compare Exo 15:11; Deu 3:24; Deu 4:35.) Sa2 7:23 "And where is (any) like Thy people, like Israel, a nation upon earth, which God went to redeem as a people for himself, that He might make Him a name, and do great things for you, and terrible things for Thy land before Thy people, which Thou hast redeemed for Thee out of Egypt, (out of the) nations and their gods?" מי does not really mean where, but who, and is to be connected with the words immediately following, viz., אחד גּוי (one nation); but the only way in which the words can be rendered into good English (German in the original: Tr.) is, "where is there any people," etc. The relative אשׁר does not belong to הלכוּ, "which Elohim went to redeem." The construing of Elohim with a plural arises from the fact, that in this clause it not only refers to the true God, but also includes the idea of the gods of other nations. The idea, therefore, is not, "Is there any nation upon earth to which the only true God went?" but, "Is there any nation to which the deity worshipped by it went, as the true God went to Israel to redeem it for His own people?" The rendering given in the Septuagint to הלכוּ, viz., ὠδήγησεν, merely arose from a misapprehension of the true sense of the words; and the emendation הוליך, which some propose in consequence, would only distort the sense. The stress laid upon the incomparable character of the things which God had done for Israel, is merely introduced to praise and celebrate the God who did this as the only true God. (For the thought itself, compare the original passage in Deu 4:7, Deu 4:34.) In the clause לכם ולעשׂות, "and to do for you," David addresses the people of Israel with oratorical vivacity. Instead of saying "to do great things to (for) Israel," he says "to do great things to (for you." For you forms an antithesis to him, "to make Him a name, and to do great things for you (Israel)." The suggestion made by some, that לכם is to be taken as a dativ. comm., and referred to Elohim, no more needs a serious refutation than the alteration into להם. There have been different opinions, however, as to the object referred to in the suffix attached to לארצך, and it is difficult to decide between them; for whilst the fact that לארצך נראות (terrible things to Thy land) is governed by לעשׂות (to do) favours the allusion to Israel, and the sudden transition from the plural to the singular might be accounted for from the deep emotion of the person speaking, the words which follow ("before Thy people") rather favour the allusion to God, as it does not seem natural to take the suffix in two different senses in the two objects which follow so closely the one upon the other, viz., "for Thy land," and "before Thy people;" whilst the way is prepared for a transition from speaking of God to speaking to God by the word לכם (to you). The words of Deu 10:21 floated before the mind of David at the time, although he has given them a different turn. (On the "terrible things," see the commentary on Deu 10:21 and Exo 15:11.) The connection of נראות (terrible things) with לארצך (to Thy land) shows that David had in mind, when speaking of the acts of divine omnipotence which had inspired fear and dread of the majesty of God, not only the miracles of God in Egypt, but also the marvellous extermination of the Canaanites, whereby Israel had been established in the possession of the promised land, and the people of God placed in a condition to found a kingdom. These acts were performed before Israel, before the nation, whom the Lord redeemed to himself out of Egypt. This view is confirmed by the last words, "nations and their gods," which are in apposition to "from Egypt," so that the preposition מן should be repeated before גּוים (nations). The suffix to ואלהיו (literally "and its gods") is to be regarded as distributive: "the gods of each of these heathen nations." In the Chronicles (Ch1 17:21) the expression is simplified, and explained more clearly by the omission of "to Thy land," and the insertion of לגרשׁ, "to drive out nations from before Thy people." It has been erroneously inferred from this, that the text of our book is corrupt, and ought to be emended, or at any rate interpreted according to the Chronicles. But whilst לארצך is certainly not to be altered into לגרשׁ, it is just as wrong to do as Hengstenberg proposes, - namely, to take the thought expressed in לגרשׁ from the preceding לעשׂות by assuming a zeugma; for עשׂה, to do or make, has nothing in common with driving or clearing away. Sa2 7:24-26 "And Thou hast established to thyself Thy people Israel to be a people unto Thee for ever: and Thou, Jehovah, hast become a God to them." The first clause does not refer merely to the liberation of Israel out of Egypt, or to the conquest of Canaan alone, but to all that the Lord had done for the establishment of Israel as the people of His possession, from the time of Moses till His promise of the eternal continuance of the throne of David. Jehovah had thereby become God to the nation of Israel, i.e., had thereby attested and proved himself to be its God. To this praise of the acts of the Lord there is attached in Sa2 7:25. the prayer for the fulfilment of His glorious promise. Would Jehovah set up (i.e., carry out) the word which He had spoken to His servant that His name might be great, i.e., be glorified, through its being said, "The Lord of Sabaoth is God over Israel," and "the house of Thy servant will be firm before Thee." The prayer is expressed in the form of confident assurance. Sa2 7:27 David felt himself encouraged to offer this prayer through the revelation which he had received. Because God had promised to build him a house, "therefore Thy servant hath found in his heart to pray this prayer," i.e., hath found joy in doing so. Sa2 7:28-29 David then briefly sums up the two parts of his prayer of thanksgiving in the two clauses commencing with ועתּה, "and now." - In Sa2 7:28 he sums up the contents of Sa2 7:18-24 by celebrating the greatness of the Lord and His promise; and in Sa2 7:29 the substance of the prayer in Sa2 7:25-27. וּברך הואל, may it please Thee to bless (הואיל; see at Deu 1:5). "And from (out of) Thy blessing may the house of Thy servant be blessed for ever."

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

David's prayer and thanksgiving. - Sa2 7:18. King David came, i.e., went into the sanctuary erected upon Zion, and remained before Jehovah. ישׁב, remained, tarried (as in Gen 24:55; Gen 29:19, etc.), not "sat;" for the custom of sitting before the Lord in the sanctuary, as the posture assumed in prayer, cannot be deduced from Exo 17:12, where Moses is compelled to sit from simple exhaustion. David's prayer consists of two parts - thanksgiving for the promise (Sa2 7:18-24), and supplication for its fulfilment (Sa2 7:25-29). The thanksgiving consists of a confession of unworthiness of all the great things that the Lord had hitherto done for him, and which He had still further increased by this glorious promise (Sa2 7:18-21), and praise to the Lord that all this had been done in proof of His true Deity, and to glorify His name upon His chosen people Israel.

Sa2 7:18. "Who am I, O Lord Jehovah? and who my house (i.e., my family), that Thou hast brought me hitherto?" These words recall Jacob's prayer in Gen 32:10, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies," etc. David acknowledged himself to be unworthy of the great mercy which the Lord had displayed towards him, that he might give the glory to God alone (vid., Psa 8:5 and Psa 144:3).

Sa2 7:19

"And this is still too little in Thine eyes, O Lord Jehovah, and Thou still speakest with regard to the house of Thy servant for a great while to come." למרחוק, lit. that which points to a remote period, i.e., that of the eternal establishment of my house and throne. "And this is the law of man, O Lord Jehovah." "The law of man" is the law which determines ore regulates the conduct of man. Hence the meaning of these words, which have been very differently interpreted, cannot, with the context immediately preceding it, be any other than the following: This - namely, the love and condescension manifested in Thy treatment of Thy servant - is the law which applies to man, or is conformed to the law which men are to observe towards men, i.e., to the law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Lev 19:18, compare Mic 6:8). With this interpretation, which is confirmed by the parallel text of the Chronicles (in Sa2 7:17), "Thou sawest (i.e., visitedst me, or didst deal with me) according to the manner of man," that words are expressive of praise of the condescending grace of the Lord. "When God the Lord, in His treatment of poor mortals, follows the rule which He has laid down for the conduct of men one towards another, when He shows himself kind and affectionate, this must fill with adoring amazement those who know themselves and God" (Hengstenberg). Luther is wrong in the rendering which he has adopted: "This is the manner of a man, who is God the Lord;" for "Lord Jehovah" is not an explanatory apposition to "man," but an address to God, as in the preceding and following clause.

Sa2 7:20

"And what more shall David speak to Thee? Thou knowest Thy servant, Lord Jehovah." Instead of expressing his gratitude still further in many words, David appeals to the omniscience of God, before whom his thankful heart lies open, just as in Psa 40:10 (compare also Psa 17:3).

Sa2 7:21-22

"For Thy word's sake, and according to Thy heart (and therefore not because I am worthy of such grace), has Thou done all this greatness, to make it known to Thy servant." The word, for the sake of which God had done such great things for David, must be some former promise on the part of God. Hengstenberg supposes it to refer to the word of the Lord to Samuel, "Rise up and anoint him" (Sa1 16:12), which is apparently favoured indeed by the parallel in the corresponding text of Ch1 17:19, "for Thy servant's sake," i.e., because Thou hast chosen Thy servant. But even this variation must contain some special allusion which does not exclude a general interpretation of the expression "for Thy word's sake," viz., an allusion to the earlier promises of God, or the Messianic prophecies generally, particularly the one concerning Judah in Jacob's blessing (Gen 49:10), and the one relating to the ruler out of Jacob in Balaam's sayings (Num 24:17.), which contain the germs of the promise of the everlasting continuance of David's government. For the fact that David recognised the connection between the promise of God communicated to him by Nathan and Jacob's prophecy in Gen 49:10, is evident from Ch1 28:4, where he refers to his election as king as being the consequence of the election of Judah as ruler. "According to Thine own heart" is equivalent to "according to Thy love and grace; for God is gracious, merciful, and of great kindness and truth" (Exo 34:6, compare Psa 103:8). גּדוּלה does not mean great things, but greatness.

The praise of God commences in Sa2 7:22 : "wherefore Thou art great, Jehovah God; and there is not (one) like Thee, and no God beside Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears." By the word "wherefore," i.e., because Thou hast done this, the praise of the singleness of God is set forth as the result of David's own experience. God is great when He manifests the greatness of His grace to men, and brings them to acknowledge it. And in these great deeds He proves the incomparable nature of His Deity, or that He alone is the true God. (For the fact itself, compare Exo 15:11; Deu 3:24; Deu 4:35.)

Sa2 7:23

"And where is (any) like Thy people, like Israel, a nation upon earth, which God went to redeem as a people for himself, that He might make Him a name, and do great things for you, and terrible things for Thy land before Thy people, which Thou hast redeemed for Thee out of Egypt, (out of the) nations and their gods?" מי does not really mean where, but who, and is to be connected with the words immediately following, viz., אחד גּוי (one nation); but the only way in which the words can be rendered into good English (German in the original: Tr.) is, "where is there any people," etc. The relative אשׁר does not belong to הלכוּ, "which Elohim went to redeem." The construing of Elohim with a plural arises from the fact, that in this clause it not only refers to the true God, but also includes the idea of the gods of other nations. The idea, therefore, is not, "Is there any nation upon earth to which the only true God went?" but, "Is there any nation to which the deity worshipped by it went, as the true God went to Israel to redeem it for His own people?" The rendering given in the Septuagint to הלכוּ, viz., ὠδήγησεν, merely arose from a misapprehension of the true sense of the words; and the emendation הוליך, which some propose in consequence, would only distort the sense. The stress laid upon the incomparable character of the things which God had done for Israel, is merely introduced to praise and celebrate the God who did this as the only true God. (For the thought itself, compare the original passage in Deu 4:7, Deu 4:34.) In the clause לכם ולעשׂות, "and to do for you," David addresses the people of Israel with oratorical vivacity. Instead of saying "to do great things to (for) Israel," he says "to do great things to (for you." For you forms an antithesis to him, "to make Him a name, and to do great things for you (Israel)." The suggestion made by some, that לכם is to be taken as a dativ. comm., and referred to Elohim, no more needs a serious refutation than the alteration into להם. There have been different opinions, however, as to the object referred to in the suffix attached to לארצך, and it is difficult to decide between them; for whilst the fact that לארצך נראות (terrible things to Thy land) is governed by לעשׂות (to do) favours the allusion to Israel, and the sudden transition from the plural to the singular might be accounted for from the deep emotion of the person speaking, the words which follow ("before Thy people") rather favour the allusion to God, as it does not seem natural to take the suffix in two different senses in the two objects which follow so closely the one upon the other, viz., "for Thy land," and "before Thy people;" whilst the way is prepared for a transition from speaking of God to speaking to God by the word לכם (to you). The words of Deu 10:21 floated before the mind of David at the time, although he has given them a different turn. (On the "terrible things," see the commentary on Deu 10:21 and Exo 15:11.) The connection of נראות (terrible things) with לארצך (to Thy land) shows that David had in mind, when speaking of the acts of divine omnipotence which had inspired fear and dread of the majesty of God, not only the miracles of God in Egypt, but also the marvellous extermination of the Canaanites, whereby Israel had been established in the possession of the promised land, and the people of God placed in a condition to found a kingdom. These acts were performed before Israel, before the nation, whom the Lord redeemed to himself out of Egypt. This view is confirmed by the last words, "nations and their gods," which are in apposition to "from Egypt," so that the preposition מן should be repeated before גּוים (nations). The suffix to ואלהיו (literally "and its gods") is to be regarded as distributive: "the gods of each of these heathen nations." In the Chronicles (Ch1 17:21) the expression is simplified, and explained more clearly by the omission of "to Thy land," and the insertion of לגרשׁ, "to drive out nations from before Thy people." It has been erroneously inferred from this, that the text of our book is corrupt, and ought to be emended, or at any rate interpreted according to the Chronicles. But whilst לארצך is certainly not to be altered into לגרשׁ, it is just as wrong to do as Hengstenberg proposes, - namely, to take the thought expressed in לגרשׁ from the preceding לעשׂות by assuming a zeugma; for עשׂה, to do or make, has nothing in common with driving or clearing away.

Sa2 7:24-26

"And Thou hast established to thyself Thy people Israel to be a people unto Thee for ever: and Thou, Jehovah, hast become a God to them." The first clause does not refer merely to the liberation of Israel out of Egypt, or to the conquest of Canaan alone, but to all that the Lord had done for the establishment of Israel as the people of His possession, from the time of Moses till His promise of the eternal continuance of the throne of David. Jehovah had thereby become God to the nation of Israel, i.e., had thereby attested and proved himself to be its God.

To this praise of the acts of the Lord there is attached in Sa2 7:25. the prayer for the fulfilment of His glorious promise. Would Jehovah set up (i.e., carry out) the word which He had spoken to His servant that His name might be great, i.e., be glorified, through its being said, "The Lord of Sabaoth is God over Israel," and "the house of Thy servant will be firm before Thee." The prayer is expressed in the form of confident assurance.

Sa2 7:27

David felt himself encouraged to offer this prayer through the revelation which he had received. Because God had promised to build him a house, "therefore Thy servant hath found in his heart to pray this prayer," i.e., hath found joy in doing so.

Sa2 7:28-29

David then briefly sums up the two parts of his prayer of thanksgiving in the two clauses commencing with ועתּה, "and now." - In Sa2 7:28 he sums up the contents of Sa2 7:18-24 by celebrating the greatness of the Lord and His promise; and in Sa2 7:29 the substance of the prayer in Sa2 7:25-27. וּברך הואל, may it please Thee to bless (הואיל; see at Deu 1:5). "And from (out of) Thy blessing may the house of Thy servant be blessed for ever."

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
In - Into the tabernacle. Sat - He might sit for a season whilst he was meditating upon these things, and then alter his posture and betake himself to prayer. Who am I, &c. - How infinitely unworthy am I and my family of this great honour and happiness!

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Sat before the Lord - Sometimes, when a Hindoo seeks a favor from a superior, he sits down in his presence in silence; or if he solicits some favor of a god, as riches, children, etc., he places himself before the idol, and remains in a waiting posture, or repeats the name of the god, counting the beads in his necklace. - Ward.

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⁴ But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

¹³ And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

¹² But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

¹⁸ Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
¹⁹ And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?
²⁰ And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.
²¹ For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
²² Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
²³ And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
²⁴ For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.
²⁵ And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
²⁶ And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
²⁷ For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
²⁸ And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
²⁹ Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

⁵⁴ And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
⁵⁵ And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

²² And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

⁵ On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

²⁹ Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

²⁸ And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:

²⁸ And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
²⁹ Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

²⁷ For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.

²⁵ And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.

²⁴ For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.
²⁵ And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
²⁶ And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.

²¹ 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?

¹¹ Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

²¹ He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.

³⁴ Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

⁷ For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

²³ And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

³⁵ Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.

²⁴ O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?

¹¹ Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

²² Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

⁶ And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

⁴ Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel:

¹⁰ The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

¹⁷ I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

¹⁰ The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

¹⁹ O LORD, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

¹² And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

²¹ For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
²² Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

³ Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

¹⁰ I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

²⁰ And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.

¹⁷ According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

⁸ He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

¹⁸ Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

¹⁹ And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?

³ LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!

⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

¹⁸ Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

²⁵ And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
²⁶ And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
²⁷ For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
²⁸ And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
²⁹ Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

¹⁹ And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.

⁵⁵ And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

¹⁸ Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?