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So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You.
2 Samuel 7:26 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Let your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies is God over Israel; and the house of your servant David will be established before you.’
  • KJV And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
  • BSB so that Your name will be magnified forever when it is said, ‘The LORD of Hosts is God over Israel.’ And the house of Your servant David will be established before You.
  • NASB so that Your name may be great forever, by saying, ‘The Lord of armies is God over Israel’; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You.
  • NLT And may your name be honored forever so that everyone will say, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over Israel!’ And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever.

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 prayed that God's name be magnified forever and David's house established before Him. God's glory, not David's, is the ultimate aim.

Overview

David's deepest desire is that the LORD be exalted as God over Israel, with the dynasty serving that greater end. He subordinates his own house to the magnifying of God's name. This God-centered ambition reflects the right ordering of all prayer, seeking first God's glory and kingdom.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • 1 Chr 17:23–24Now, Yahweh, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant, and concerning his house, be established forever, and do as you have spoken.
  • Matt 6:9Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
  • Ps 72:18–19Praise be to Yahweh God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
  • 1 Chr 29:10–13Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, “You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
  • Gen 17:18Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
  • Ps 89:36His offspring will endure forever, his throne like the sun before me.
  • Ps 115:1Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to your name give glory, for your loving kindness, and for your truth’s sake.
  • John 12:28Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Samuel 7:26YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 7:26 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.