Study Desk

and with them Heman and Jeduthun, to sound aloud with trumpets and cymbals and the musical instruments of God. Now the sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers.

Then Nathan said to David, "Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you."

But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: "Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O LORD God.

O LORD, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people--to make for Yourself a name by great and awesome deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt?

For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God.

So let it be established, that Your name may be magnified forever, saying, "The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God.' And let the house of Your servant David be established before You.

For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray before You.

And now, LORD, You are God, and have promised this goodness to Your servant.

Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight."

And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.

So David said to God, "I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly."

And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he [fn] was destroying, the Lord looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, "It is enough; now restrain your [fn] hand." And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan 2 Samuel 24:16">[fn] the Jebusite.

And David said to God, "Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me and my father's house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."

But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

Then David said, "This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel."

So David commanded to gather the aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to cut hewn stones to build the house of God.

Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel.