2 Samuel 7:29
ESV
Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."
NIV
Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."
NASB
And now, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, so that it may continue forever before You. For You, Lord God, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.'
CSB
Now, please bless your servant’s house so that it will continue before you forever. For you, Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing your servant’s house will be blessed forever.
NLT
And now, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you have spoken, and when you grant a blessing to your servant, O Sovereign Lord, it is an eternal blessing!'
KJV
Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
NKJV
Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”
What does 2 Samuel 7:29 mean?
God has promised David a series of blessings (2 Samuel 7:8–16). David immediately praises God (2 Samuel 7:18–24).In the last part of David's prayer, he arranges the themes in a chiastic structure, which functions like a mirror. In the outermost layer, David asks God to fulfill His promises (2 Samuel 7:25, 29). In the next layer, David is confident He will (2 Samuel 26, 28). And in the center, the most important part of the chiasm, the chapter, and the Davidic Covenant, David states that the Lord of hosts, God of Israel has specifically stated He will build David a house.
When David asks God to fulfill His promise to build David a lasting legacy, he isn't doubting that God will follow through. He is focusing his thoughts on what God said and submitting himself to God's will. Daniel does the same when the seventy years of exile are up. He knows it's time for God to bring the Jews back from Babylon. He "turned [his] face to the Lord God," confessed the sins of his people, and asked God to let them return home (Daniel 9:3–19).
This is a very different prayer than the "name it and claim it" approach taken by false teachers. Simply demanding something doesn't obligate God to make it happen. Although both types of prayer assume God will agree to do what the prayer asks, one humbly asks for what God has already promised to do. The other merely insists He do what the petitioner wants.
It's good to study the Bible, find God's promises to us, and ask that He fill them. The story of the nation of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah is the story of God's faithfulness to David's request. Despite several kings who rebelled against God and committed idolatry, God kept a descendant of David on the throne until the Babylonian exile. God's faithful response to David's prayer can inspire our own confidence that God will do what He said.
In 2 Samuel 8, the text gives more examples of how God fulfilled His promises to David. David subdues the Philistines, defeats Moab, takes out Zobah and the Syrians, and strikes down the Edomites. He secures the borders, and the king of Hamath sends him tribute to add to the spoils of war. In large part, David can do this because God has equipped him with skilled and faithful leaders, administrators, and advisors.
