2 Samuel 7:1-2

The Lord Establishes a Covenant with David

7:1 The king settled into his palace, ¹  for the Lord gave him relief ²  from all his enemies on all sides. ³  7:2 The king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of God sits in the middle of a tent.”

2 Samuel 6:7

6:7 The Lord was so furious with Uzzah, ⁴  he ⁵  killed him on the spot ⁶  for his negligence. ⁷  He died right there beside the ark of God.

Psalms 139:4

139:4 Certainly ⁸  my tongue does not frame a word

without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. ⁹ 

Matthew 18:19-20

18:19 Again, I tell you the truth, ¹⁰  if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. ¹¹  18:20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”

Acts 4:31-33

4:31 When ¹²  they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, ¹³  and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak ¹⁴  the word of God ¹⁵  courageously. ¹⁶ 

Conditions Among the Early Believers

4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, ¹⁷  and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. ¹⁸  4:33 With ¹⁹  great power the apostles were giving testimony ²⁰  to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all.

¹ tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

² tn Or “rest.”

³ tn The translation understands the disjunctive clause in v. 1b as circumstantial-causal.

⁴ tn Heb “and the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah.”

⁵ tn Heb “God.”

⁶ tc Heb “there.” Since this same term occurs later in the verse it is translated “on the spot” here for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tc The phrase “his negligence” is absent from the LXX.

⁸ tn Or “for.”

⁹ tn Heb “look, O Lord, you know all of it.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹¹ tn Grk “if two of you…agree about whatever they ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the pronouns, which change from second person plural to third person plural in the Greek text, have been consistently translated as second person plural.

¹² tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

¹³ sn The place where they were assembled…was shaken. This signifies that God is in their midst. See Acts 16:26; Exod 19:18; Ps 114:7; Isa 6:4.

¹⁴ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to speak”). Logical sequencing suggests that their speaking began after they were filled with the Spirit. The prayer was answered immediately.

¹⁵ tn Or “speak God’s message.”

¹⁶ tn Or “with boldness.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “soul.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “but all things were to them in common.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “And with.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

²⁰ tn Or “were witnessing.”