But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart.
Parallel translations
- WEB But Yahweh said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.
- KJV And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.
- NKJV But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.
- NASB But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.
- NLT But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good,
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
God tells David he did well to desire to build the temple. It shows that God values the intentions of a devoted heart.
Overview
The Lord affirms David's desire as good, even while withholding the task from him. God sees and honors the heart's devotion, not merely outward accomplishment. This reassures believers that God weighs motives, and that faithful longing pleases Him even when His providence directs the work elsewhere.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 2 Chr 6:7–9Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
- 2 Cor 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 8:18 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
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