For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.
Parallel translations
- KJV For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:
- BSB For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever.
- NKJV For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”;
- NASB For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever.
- NLT For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given us peace, and he will always live in Jerusalem.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David explained that the LORD had given rest to His people and would dwell in Jerusalem forever. God's settled presence changed the Levites' duties.
Overview
David grounded the reorganization of Levitical service in God's gift of rest and His abiding presence in Jerusalem. Because God would dwell permanently among His people, the nature of the Levites' work would shift from transport to temple ministry. This settled dwelling of God anticipates the fuller reality of God dwelling with His people through Christ and ultimately forever in the new creation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Chr 22:18“Isn’t Yahweh your God with you? Hasn’t he given you rest on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before Yahweh, and before his people.
- 2 Sam 7:11and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. I will cause you to rest from all your enemies. Moreover Yahweh tells you that Yahweh will make you a house.
- Ps 132:13–14For Yahweh has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation.
- Zech 8:3Yahweh says: “I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the middle of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called ‘The City of Truth;’ and the mountain of Yahweh of Armies, ‘The Holy Mountain.’”
- Ps 135:21Blessed be Yahweh from Zion, Who dwells at Jerusalem. Praise Yah!
- 2 Sam 7:1When the king lived in his house, and Yahweh had given him rest from all his enemies all around,
- Col 2:9For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
- Ps 9:11Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion, and declare among the people what he has done.
- 1 Kgs 8:27But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built!
- Isa 8:18Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion.
- 2 Cor 6:16What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
- Ps 68:18You have ascended on high. You have led away captives. You have received gifts among men, yes, among the rebellious also, that Yah God might dwell there.
- Ps 68:16Why do you look in envy, you rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign? Yes, Yahweh will dwell there forever.
- 1 Kgs 8:13I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever.”
- Joel 3:21I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Yahweh dwells in Zion.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.
How 1 Chronicles 23:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.