Bible Strands
2 Samuel 7:5
“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?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to the prophet Nathan to relay a message to David, immediately after delivering a word to Nathan that night. The words — לֵ֤ךְ (lekh) means "go," and עַבְדִּי (avdi) translates to "my servant," establishing the command as a direct royal commission. The thread — The prohibition against David building a temple appears in 1 Kings 5:3 regarding his warfare, 1 Kings 8:16 regarding God's unchosen city, and 1 Chronicles 17:4 which repeats the exact command to David. Why it lands — The text directly questions whether human initiative should determine divine dwelling, requiring the reader to accept God's sovereign timing over personal religious projects.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 5:3 “As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.
- 1 Kings 8:16 ‘Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there. But I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
- 1 Chronicles 17:4 “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.
- 1 Chronicles 22:7 “My son,” said David to Solomon, “it was in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God,
- 1 Chronicles 23:3 The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted, and the total number of men was 38,000.