For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
Parallel translations
- WEB For your word’s sake, and according to your own heart, you have worked all this greatness, to make your servant know it.
- BSB For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.
- NKJV For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them.
- NASB For the sake of Your word, and according to Your heart, You have done all this greatness, to let Your servant know.
- NLT Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant.
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 acknowledged that God did this great thing for the sake of His word and His own heart, making it known to His servant. God's promises flow from His own gracious purpose.
Overview
David traces the covenant not to his merit but to God's word and God's heart, His self-determined love. God acts 'according to your own heart,' grounding salvation in His sovereign goodness. This anticipates the New Testament truth that God saves according to His own purpose and grace, not our works (2 Timothy 1:9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Eph 3:11According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
- Ps 138:2I 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.
- Ps 115:1Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
- Luke 12:32Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
- Eph 1:9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
- 1 Cor 1:1Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
- Matt 11:26Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
- Num 23:19God 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?
- Deut 9:5Not 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.
- Josh 23:14–15And, 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.
- Luke 1:54–55He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
- Luke 1:72To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
- Luke 10:21In 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.
- Matt 24:35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 7:21 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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