1 Chronicles Chapter 17
Showing all 27 verses for 1 Chronicles Chapter 17.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains. "
"One day, while David was living in his own house, he said to Nathan the prophet, 'Look - I live in a house built of cedar, but the Ark of the LORD's covenant is still under a tent.'"
Notice when your own comfort has outpaced your care for what actually matters most to you. That gap is worth naming honestly, even if the answer isn't what you expect.
"Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. "
"Nathan told David, 'Do whatever is on your heart, because God is with you.'"
Even people who care about you can give encouragement that isn't quite right. Stay open to correction, and don't be afraid to revise your answer once you know more, as Nathan does next.
"And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, "
"But that same night, God's word came to Nathan."
When you realise you were wrong, don't wait. Correct course as soon as you know better - speed in admitting a mistake is itself a form of honesty.
"Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: "
"'Go and tell my servant David: This is what the LORD says - you are not the one who will build me a house to live in.'"
A 'not now' or 'not you' from me is never the end of the story. Sometimes I redirect exactly because I have something even bigger planned.
"For I have not in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"'I have never lived in a permanent house from the day I brought Israel out of Egypt until now - I have moved from tent to tent, from one dwelling place to another.'"
What matters most in your life doesn't need the fanciest setting to be real. Don't wait for perfect circumstances before you value what's already present with you.
"Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars? "
"'Wherever I've moved with all Israel, did I ever say to any of the judges I appointed to shepherd my people, Why haven't you built me a house of cedar?'"
Not everything I want from you is something I've been silently expecting. Some of the best things you offer are freely given, not owed.
"Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel: "
"'Now then, tell my servant David: This is what the LORD of Hosts says - I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel.'"
Remember where you started. Keeping the memory of your humble beginnings keeps you grounded and grateful rather than proud.
"And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. "
"'I have been with you wherever you have gone, I have cut off all your enemies before you, and I have made your name as great as the greatest men on earth.'"
Look back at what's already carried you this far before you worry about what's ahead. Past faithfulness is real evidence, not just sentiment.
"Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning, "
"'I will designate a place for my people Israel and plant them there; they will live in their own place and never be disturbed again, and the wicked will not oppress them as before.'"
What I want to give isn't just a good outcome for you personally, but stability that ripples out to everyone connected to you.
"And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the LORD will build thee an house. "
"'And since the days I appointed judges over my people Israel, I will also subdue all your enemies. Furthermore, I tell you: the LORD will build a house for you.'"
Sometimes what you offer to give me gets turned around, and I end up giving you something even better than what you were trying to give. Stay open to that reversal.
"And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. "
"'When your life is over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.'"
What you build in your life doesn't have to be finished by you alone - some of your best work is handed forward to be completed by those who come after you.
"He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. "
"'He will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.'"
Some promises are bigger than any one person can complete in their own lifetime. Trust that what's genuinely lasting doesn't depend on you seeing the whole thing through.
"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 that was before thee: "
"'I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me; I will not withdraw my steadfast love from him as I withdrew it from the one before you.'"
Being loved as a son or daughter, not just judged as an employee, changes everything about how you can relate to me - security instead of anxious performance.
"But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. "
"'I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.'"
Some things I establish are simply not subject to being undone by circumstance or failure - hold onto that kind of unconditional permanence when everything else in life feels uncertain.
"According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. "
"Nathan told David everything, exactly as it had been revealed to him, word for word and vision for vision."
When you're trusted to pass on a message, deliver it honestly and completely, even if it means admitting your own earlier words were wrong.
"And David the king came and sat before the LORD, and said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? "
"Then King David went in, sat before the LORD, and said, 'Who am I, LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?'"
When something good happens to you that you didn't fully earn, let your first response be humble wonder, not assumed deservingness.
"And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O LORD God. "
"'And even this was a small thing in your eyes, God, for you have also spoken about your servant's family reaching far into the future, and you have treated me as if I were someone of high standing.'"
The biggest gifts I give often extend past what you'll personally get to see finished. Being trusted with a future you won't witness is still real generosity towards you.
"What can David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant. "
"'What more can David say to you for the honour you've shown your servant? You know your servant well.'"
You don't need the perfect words to relate to me. Being genuinely known matters more than being impressively articulate.
"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. "
"'LORD, for your servant's sake, and according to your own heart, you have done this great thing, making known all these great things.'"
The best things given to you often come simply from the giver's own generous nature, not because you calculated your way into deserving them. Receive that kind of gift with gratitude, not suspicion.
"O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. "
"'LORD, there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to everything we have ever heard.'"
What you believe deeply doesn't have to be something you worked out entirely alone - it's fine, and often wiser, to stand on what trustworthy people before you have already tested and found true.
"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? "
"'And what other nation on earth is like your people Israel - a people God himself went and redeemed to be his own, making himself a name of greatness and awe by driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt?'"
If your story includes being rescued from something you couldn't get out of on your own, that's worth remembering with genuine awe, not embarrassment.
"For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God. "
"'You made your people Israel your own people forever; and you, LORD, became their God.'"
Belonging, real belonging, isn't meant to be provisional or constantly re-earned. I want you to know the security of a relationship that isn't up for renewal every day.
"Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said. "
"'So now, LORD, let the promise you made about your servant and his family be established forever; do just as you have said.'"
It's alright to ask, directly and specifically, for what's been promised to you rather than sitting back passively and hoping. Bold, honest asking is part of real trust.
"Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee. "
"'Let it be established, so that your name will be magnified forever, with people saying, The LORD of Hosts is the God of Israel, indeed a God to Israel - and let the house of your servant David be established before you.'"
When you ask for something good for yourself, try tying it to a purpose bigger than just your own comfort or legacy. That reframing changes both how you ask and how you'll use what you receive.
"For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee. "
"'For you, my God, have told your servant that you will build him a house; that is why your servant has found the courage in his heart to pray this prayer before you.'"
Your boldest requests should be rooted in what you already know to be true and promised, not in wishful guessing - that's what turns hope into confidence instead of anxiety.
"And now, LORD, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: "
"'And now, LORD, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.'"
When you're overwhelmed or uncertain, it helps to simply restate what you know to be solidly true rather than spiralling into what-ifs.
"Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and it shall be blessed for ever. "
"'Now therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue before you forever; for you, LORD, bless it, and it will be blessed forever.'"
End your own requests the way David ends his - not with anxious grasping, but with quiet trust that what's genuinely blessed by a trustworthy source stays blessed.