1 Chronicles 17:25

For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25) O my God.—Samuel: “Jehovah Sabaoth, God of Israel.”

Hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house.—Literally, hast uncovered the ear of Thy servant, to build him a house. Samuel has the more usual construction: “saying, A house I will build thee.” (Comp. 1Samuel 9:15.)

Hath found in his heart.—Rather, hath found his heart—i.e., hath taken courage. The noun is expressed in Samuel. As to its omission here, comp. 1Chronicles 14:1. The phrase is unique in Hebrew.

To pray.—Samuel adds, “this prayer.”

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

17:1-27 David's purposes; God's gracious promises. - This chapter is the same as 2Sa 7. See what is there said upon it. It is very observable that what in Samuel is said to be, for thy word's sake, is here said to be, "for thy servant's sake," ver. 19. Jesus Christ is both the Word of God, Re 19:13, and the Servant of God, Isa 42:1; and it is for his sake, upon account of his mediation, that the promises are made good to all believers; it is in him, that they are yea and amen. For His sake it is done, for his sake it is made known; to him we owe all this greatness, from him we are to expect all these great things. They are the unsearchable riches of Christ, which, if by faith we see in themselves, and see in the Lord Jesus, we cannot but magnify as the only true greatness, and speak honourably of them. For this blessedness may we look amidst the trials of life, and when we feel the hand of death upon us; and seek it for our children after us.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Some prefer, "And let Thy name be established and magnified forever:" i. e., "Let not only Thy promise stand firm, but let Thy Name also stand firm (continue to be held in honor) and be magnified," etc.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

16. David the king … sat before the Lord, and said—(See on [386]2Sa 7:18).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

See Chapter Introduction

Geneva Study Bible

For thou, O my God, hast {r} told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.

(r) You have declared to me by Nathan the prophet.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

25. hast told] R.V. hast revealed to, it., hast uncovered the ear of.

hath … found … to pray] i.e. hath found words and courage to pray.

1 Chronicles 17:25

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The combining of ונוראות גּדלּות with שׁם לך לשׂוּם as one sentence, "to make Thee a name with great and fearful deeds," is made clearer in 2nd Samuel by the interpolation of לכם ולעשׂות, "and for you doing great and fearful things." This explanation, however, does not justify us in supposing that ולעשׂות has been dropped out of the Chronicle. The words ונוראות גּדלּות are either to be subordinated in a loose connection to the clause, to define the way in which God has made Himself a name (cf. Ew. 283), or connected with שׂוּם in a pregnant sense: "to make Thee a name, (doing) great and fearful things." But, on the other hand, the converse expression in Samuel, "fearful things for Thy land, before Thy people which Thou redeemedst to Thee from Egypt (from) the nations and their gods," is explained in Chronicles by the interpolation of לגרשׁ: "fearful things, to drive out before Thy people, which ... nations." The divergences cannot be explained by the hypothesis that both texts are mutilated, as is sufficiently shown by the contradictions into which Thenius and Bertheau have fallen in their attempts so to explain them.

All the remaining divergences of one text from the other are only variations of the expression, such as involuntarily arise in the endeavour to give a clear and intelligible narrative, without making a literal copy of the authority made use of. Among these we include even להתפּלּל עבדּך מצא, "Thy servant hath found to pray" (1 Chr. , as compared with להתפּלּל את־לבּו עבדּך מצא, "Thy servant hath found his heart," i.e., found courage, to pray (2 Samuel 7:28); where it is impossible to decide whether the author of the books of Samuel has added את־לבּו as an explanation, or the author of the Chronicle has omitted it because the phrase "to find his heart" occurs only in this single passage of the Old Testament. להת עבדּך מצא signifies, Thy servant has reached the point of directing this prayer to Thee.