2 Samuel 7:8 (ASV)

Passage

Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be prince over my people, over Israel;

Nearby Context

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?

2 Samuel 7:8 Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be prince over my people, over Israel;

2 Samuel 7:9 and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee; and I will make thee a great name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth.

2 Samuel 7:10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as at the first,

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "In all places wherein I have walked..." into verse 9's "and I have been with thee whithersoever...", so "sheep" and "therefore" 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 "sheep" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.