Then David the king went in, and sat before Yahweh; and he said, “Who am I, Lord Yahweh, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far?
Parallel translations
- KJV Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
- BSB Then King David went in, sat before the LORD, and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
- NKJV 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?
- NASB Then David the king came in and sat before the Lord, and he said, “Who am I, Lord God, and who are the members of my household, that You have brought me this far?
- NLT Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?
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 went and sat before the LORD, humbled, asking who he was that God had brought him this far. His response to grace is awe-filled humility.
Overview
Overwhelmed by God's promise, David sits before the ark in prayer, marveling at unmerited favor. His question 'Who am I?' echoes the humility of Moses and others who recognized their unworthiness before God's call. This posture models the right response to grace: not pride in being chosen, but wonder at God's kindness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 8:4what is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him?
- 1 Chr 17:16Then David the king went in, and sat before Yahweh; and he said, “Who am I, Yahweh God, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far?
- 1 Sam 18:18David said to 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?”
- Gen 32:10I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my staff I crossed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.
- Exod 3:11Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
- 1 Sam 15:17Samuel said, “Though you were little in your own sight, weren’t you made the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel;
- Eph 3:8To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
- Judg 6:15He said to him, “O Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
- 1 Sam 9:21Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me like this?”
- Isa 37:14Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to Yahweh’s house, and spread it before Yahweh.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 7:18 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
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.