Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Chronicles 17:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Places Israel's redemption and terrifying acts within the nations.
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 17:16–17:27
Places Israel's redemption and terrifying acts within the nations. Read 1 Chronicles 17:21 within 17:16–17:27. The complete unit records: David asks who he and his house are, praises God's uniqueness and Israel's redemption, and asks that the promised house be established for God's name.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The prayer receives promise as gift and responsibility rather than self-made royal greatness. In this exact position, the line beginning “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God…” places Israel's redemption and terrifying acts within the nations.
Follow the Context
- David asks who he and his house are, praises God's uniqueness and Israel's redemption, and asks that the promised house be established for God's name.
- The prayer receives promise as gift and responsibility rather than self-made royal greatness.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God…”
In plain language: Places Israel's redemption and terrifying acts within the nations.
The line beginning “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God…” places Israel's redemption and terrifying acts within the nations.
Why it matters: The wording carries a material literary, historical, temple, royal-power, violence, ethnic, illness, gender, exile, reception, or misuse boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
David's humility does not erase his power, future harms, or victims, and the prayer does not authorize a modern dynasty to claim divine guarantee.
What Remains True
Places Israel's redemption and terrifying acts within the nations. This concrete detail supports a bounded truth: Prayer responds to God within the passage's covenantal setting; it is not a technique for control, prosperity, immunity, or coercion.
How It Can Shape Life
- Because this verse places Israel's redemption and terrifying acts within the nations, keep it inside 17:16–17:27, compare its Samuel-Kings relationship honestly, protect affected people from coercion or stigma, and apply only the accountable principle the complete unit supports.
Teach It Back
Explain why 1 Chronicles 17:21 places Israel's redemption and terrifying acts within the nations. Use 17:16–17:27, paraphrase “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 17:16–17:27 — David responds with humility and petitionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
1 Chronicles 17:21 remains within this thought-unit limit: The prayer parallels 2 Samuel 7 with verbal differences; its liturgical shape and exact historical wording remain open questions.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 17:16–17:27, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 17:16–17:27
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 17:16–17:27, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗