2 Samuel 7:5 (ASV)

Passage

Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah, Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 7:3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.

2 Samuel 7:4 And it came to pass the same night, that the word of Jehovah came unto Nathan, saying,

2 Samuel 7:5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah, Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?

2 Samuel 7:6 for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.

2 Samuel 7:7 In all places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tell", "servant", "david", "thus", "saith", "jehovah", "shalt", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tell" and "servant", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And it came to pass the same..." into verse 6's "for I have not dwelt in a...", so "tell" and "servant" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "tell" and "servant" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.