2 Samuel 7:3
in 2 Samuel 7And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.
KJV
And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe spirit of prophecy doth not always illuminate the minds of the prophets; because, as it is written of the Holy Ghost that he breatheth where he will, so we are also to know that he doth breathe likewise for what cause, and when he pleaseth. And hereof it cometh, that when king David demanded of Nathan whether he might build a temple for the honour of God, the prophet Nathan gave his consent; and yet afterward utterly forbad it.
This site's exposition
Go, do all that is in thine heart
Nathan answers David the same day, on his own judgment rather than a word received, telling him to go and do all that is in his heart. The next verse corrects him overnight. A true prophet's best instinct is not the same thing as a word from the Lord, and the chapter shows Nathan learning that before Israel does.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It was Christ's prerogative always to speak the mind of God, which he perfectly knew. Other prophets spoke it only when the spirit of prophecy was upon them; but, if in any thing they mistook (as Samuel, 1 Sam. xvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Nathan said - Pursue thy intentions, and build an house for the ark. The design being pious and the thing not forbidden by God, Nathan hastily approves it, before he had consulted God about it, as both he and David ought to have done in a matter of so great moment. And therefore Nathan meets with this rebuke, that he is forced to acknowledge his error, and recant it.
And Nathan said to the king, go, do till that is in thine heart,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Nathan said to the king - In this case he gave his judgment as a pious and prudent man, not as a prophet; for the prophets were not always under a Divine afflatus; it was only at select times they were thus honored. For the Lord is with thee - Thou hast his blessing in all that thou doest, and this pious design of thine will most certainly meet with his approbation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart--The piety of the design commended it to the prophet's mind, and he gave his hasty approval and encouragement to the royal plans.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נָתָן֙ | natan | Nathan | H5416 → | 41 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כֹּ֛ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּֽלְבָבְךָ֖ | bilvavekha | [is] in heart your | H3824 → | |
| לֵ֣ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עֲשֵׂ֑ה | ʾaseh | do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עִמָּֽךְ׃ ס | ʾimakh | [is] with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
נָתָן֙Nathan
natanH5416 →41 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
כֹּ֛לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּֽלְבָבְךָ֖[is] in heart your
bilvavekhaH3824 →
לֵ֣ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
עֲשֵׂ֑הdo
ʾasehH6213 →2628 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עִמָּֽךְ׃ ס[is] with you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 times
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
1 Samuel 16:7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the…
it leads to
- John 7:24
Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”
- Jeremiah 17:10
I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Luke 16:15
So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
- 1 Peter 3:4
but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
- Isaiah 55:8–9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
- John 7:24
Through
1 Chronicles 22:7“My son,” said David to Solomon, “it was in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God,
it leads to
- Psalms 132:5
until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
- Psalms 132:5
Through
1 Chronicles 28:2Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of…
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:1
This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- Psalms 99:5
Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy!
- Isaiah 66:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Dialogues, Book 2, Chapter 21; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.