2 Samuel 7:18–28

⁴What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

¹⁶¶ 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?

¹⁸And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?

¹⁰I 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.

¹¹¶ And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

¹⁷And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?

⁸Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

¹⁵And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

²¹And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?

¹⁴¶ And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

⁸¶ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

⁹For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁷And 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.

¹¹And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.

¹²¶ And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹³He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

¹⁴I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

¹⁵But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

¹⁶And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

⁷How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

⁸And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

⁷That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

¹⁹And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

²⁰Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

¹³Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?

⁹Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?

⁷But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

¹⁷He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.

¹⁹For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

¹³Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

²⁵And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

²³And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

¹¹According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

¹NOT unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

²I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

¹PAUL, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

⁹Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

³²Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

⁵Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

¹⁴And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.

¹⁵Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.

⁵⁴He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

⁵⁵As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

²¹¶ In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

²⁶Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

³⁵Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

¹⁰For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

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

⁸Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

²⁵For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

¹⁸Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

⁵¶ I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

²⁴O 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?

²There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

⁶For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

⁸O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

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

⁶Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

⁷Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

⁴For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

¹⁸¶ To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

¹GREAT is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

⁵For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

³Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

¹WE have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

²²Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.

¹⁸For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.

⁵And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.

³⁹See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

²⁵To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

²And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the Lord.

³²Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

²²Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

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

²⁶I prayed therefore unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

¹⁵And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

²⁹Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

¹⁰Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

⁹He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.

²⁰He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.

³²For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

³³Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?

³⁴Or 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?

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

³⁶Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.

³⁷And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;

³⁸To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.

⁹But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

⁵Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

²¹And 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?

⁹But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

⁷For 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?

⁸And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

⁶To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

¹²For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

⁷¶ And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

⁸And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

¹⁶And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

⁷¶ I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

⁸For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.

⁹In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

¹⁰¶ But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

¹¹Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?

¹²That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?

¹³That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?

¹⁴As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

⁹For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

⁶And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

⁵By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:

⁹And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

¹WHAT advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?

²Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

¹⁴Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

⁵Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

⁶And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

¹³¶ And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)

¹⁴And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

³Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

²²Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.

¹⁸And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

¹⁰Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

⁷And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

²Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

³³But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

¹²But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

¹⁴For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

²²For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Lord, becamest their God.

²³And 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?

⁹¶ And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God.

²The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

⁷And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

¹⁰¶ Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

¹AT the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

³⁸And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

²⁵As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

²⁶And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.

⁹And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

⁴⁹Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

³⁷Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

¹²And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

⁴Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:

⁵That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord.

²³Therefore 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.

²⁴Let 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.

⁹After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.

¹⁹And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

¹⁰¶ Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

¹¹Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

¹²Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

¹³Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

¹⁸And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

²⁸Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

¹NOT unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

³⁶His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

²⁵For 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.

²⁶And now, Lord, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:

¹⁷Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

⁴And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.

¹⁵¶ Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,

⁶Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

¹⁷Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

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

¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

²In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;