Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Chronicles 17:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Interrupts human agreement with God's word to Nathan that night.
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 17:1–17:6
Interrupts human agreement with God's word to Nathan that night. Read 1 Chronicles 17:3 within 17:1–17:6. The complete unit records: David contrasts his cedar house with the ark's tent, Nathan initially approves, but the night's word says David will not build and recalls God's mobile presence.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The temple question begins by correcting both royal desire and prophetic assumption before any promise is made. In this exact position, the line beginning “And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came…” interrupts human agreement with God's word to Nathan that night.
Follow the Context
- David contrasts his cedar house with the ark's tent, Nathan initially approves, but the night's word says David will not build and recalls God's mobile presence.
- The temple question begins by correcting both royal desire and prophetic assumption before any promise is made.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came…”
In plain language: Interrupts human agreement with God's word to Nathan that night.
The line beginning “And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came…” interrupts human agreement with God's word to Nathan that night.
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
A sincere vision and respected adviser do not guarantee divine approval, and God is not confined to prestigious buildings.
What Remains True
Interrupts human agreement with God's word to Nathan that night. This concrete detail supports a bounded truth: Leadership is accountable for truth, justice, lives, land, and labor; remembered calling or success does not erase harm or remove correction.
How It Can Shape Life
- Because this verse interrupts human agreement with God's word to Nathan that night, keep it inside 17:1–17:6, 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 17:3 interrupts human agreement with God's word to Nathan that night. Use 17:1–17:6, paraphrase “And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came…,” 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 17:1–17:6 — Nathan's first approval is corrected by God's wordSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
1 Chronicles 17:3 remains within this thought-unit limit: Chronicles modifies 2 Samuel 7's wording and divine-name usage; the speeches' final literary form is clearer than an exact transcript.
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 17:1–17:6, 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 17:1–17:6
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 17:1–17:6, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗