1 Chronicles 17:1
in 1 Chronicles 17After David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah dwelleth under curtains.
KJV
Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 17
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The date was towards the latter end of David's reign, for it is expressly said in the former book to have been at the cessation of all his wars. But as to narrate the preparations for the removal of the ark and the erection of the temple was the principal object of the historian, the exact chronology is not followed.
This site's exposition
as David sat in his house
on 1 Chronicles 17:1-3
Chronicles opens the scene without Samuel's notice that the LORD had first given David rest from all his enemies round about, 2 Sam 7:1. It moves straight from the house of cedars to the ark under curtains, keeping the chapter's attention on the sanctuary rather than on David's military peace. Nathan answers David the same day on his own judgment, and the LORD corrects him that same night, exactly as in Samuel, and the Samuel exposition already carries the weight of a true prophet revising his own instinct under a fresh word.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
What pleasure can we take in our own prosperity if we see not the good of Jerusalem? When David is advanced to wealth and power see what his cares and projects are. Not, "What shall I do for my children to get portions for them?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Now it came to pass - See every thing recorded in this chapter amply detailed in the notes on 2Sa 7:1 (note), etc.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare throughout 2 Sam. 7 and the notes found there.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Now it came to pass when David sat In Samuel (II:1) it is written: “..and the Lord had given him rest from around him, etc.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֕י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר | kaasher | just when | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָשַׁ֥ב | yashav | he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| דָּוִ֖יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| בְּבֵית֑וֹ | beveito | in house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֜יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נָתָ֣ן | natan | Nathan | H5416 → | 41 times |
| הַנָּבִ֗יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הִנֵּ֨ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָנֹכִ֤י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | |
| יוֹשֵׁב֙ | yoshev | [am] dwelling | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּבֵ֣ית | beveit | in [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָֽאֲרָזִ֔ים | haarazim | <the> cedar<s> | H730 → | 73 times |
| וַאֲר֥וֹן | vaaron | and [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| בְּרִית־ | berit- | [the] covenant of | H1285 → | 284 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| תַּ֥חַת | tachat | [is] under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| יְרִיעֽוֹת׃ | yeriot | tent curtains | H3407 → |
וַיְהִ֕יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֛רjust when
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יָשַׁ֥בhe dwelt
yashavH3427 →1079 times
דָּוִ֖ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
בְּבֵית֑וֹin house his
beveitoH1004 →2046 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֜ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
נָתָ֣ןNathan
natanH5416 →41 times
הַנָּבִ֗יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
הִנֵּ֨הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָנֹכִ֤יI
ʾanokhiH595 →
יוֹשֵׁב֙[am] dwelling
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בְּבֵ֣יתin [the] house of
beveitH1004 →2046 times
הָֽאֲרָזִ֔ים<the> cedar<s>
haarazimH730 →73 times
וַאֲר֥וֹןand [the] ark of
vaaronH727 →202 times
בְּרִית־[the] covenant of
berit-H1285 →284 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
תַּ֥חַת[is] under
tachatH8478 →505 times
יְרִיעֽוֹת׃tent curtains
yeriotH3407 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 22:15Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:25
Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the…
- Isaiah 3:10
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Proverbs 25:5
Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
- Ecclesiastes 10:17
Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.
- Proverbs 29:4
By justice a king brings stability to the land, but a man who exacts tribute demolishes it.
- 2 Kings 23:25
Through
1 Chronicles 17:5For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved from tent to tent and dwelling to dwelling.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 7:6
For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling.
- 2 Samuel 7:6
Through
1 Chronicles 15:1David constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 16:1
So they brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
- Psalms 132:5
until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
- 1 Chronicles 16:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchyNathanThe prophet at David's court who carried the covenant promise of 2 Samuel 7 and later the parable of the ewe lamb — "thou art the…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.