2 Samuel 7:5
ESV
"Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in?
NIV
"Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
NASB
Go and say to My servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: 'Should you build Me a house for My dwelling?
CSB
"Go to my servant David and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you to build me a house to dwell in?
NLT
'Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in?
KJV
Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
NKJV
“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?
What does 2 Samuel 7:5 mean?
God has done so much for David; David wants to return the favor by building a permanent temple for the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:10). This will be a place people can visit to worship God. David's advisor, Nathan, agrees. But God doesn't. God visits Nathan that night with a message (2 Samuel 7:1–4).God doesn't want David to build a temple. God's first justification is that He never asked for one. He commanded Moses to build Him an ornate but portable tabernacle to travel with the Israelites through the wilderness (Exodus 25). When they arrived in the Promised Land, God was content for His ark and altar to stay in that tabernacle in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3). After a brief visit with the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:11; 6:1–18), God allowed the ark to stay in a tent, following His people around (1 Samuel 14:18). And when David wanted the ark in Jerusalem, God was fine with that, too (2 Samuel 6:1–15). The ark hasn't even been with the altar since Samuel was a boy, and God has said nothing.
God blesses David's broad idea about constructing a temple, but He wants Solomon to do it. God's reasons aren't given here. David told Solomon why shortly before he died:
David said to Solomon, "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.'"David is a man of war. He has killed too much and too often. This was not sinful, as those battles were part of God's plan to establish Israel (Psalm 144:1). God wants a man of peace to build His temple during a time of peace. That man will be Solomon. God isn't condemning David's violent life nor his hope to build a temple. The temple simply isn't part of David's purpose as king. David's reputation will be based on other things (2 Samuel 7:8–17).
1 Chronicles 22:7–8
During this era in the Ancient Near East, many religions held that a king should not build a temple without permission and instructions from the gods they served. Those would include exactly how the temple should be built. People believed that disaster would follow if a king built a temple to his gods without their approval. God will give specific instructions for the temple, but his first is that Solomon will build it.
