Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?

1 CHRONICLES 17:6KJV
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1 Chronicles 17:6 (KJV)

What does 1 Chronicles 17:6 mean?

1 Chronicles 17:6 records God reminding David that, throughout Israel’s history, God never asked any of Israel’s judges to build Him a house made of cedar wood. God is saying He never required a permanent temple from those He appointed to lead and care for His people before David’s time.

In this verse, God is speaking to David through the prophet Nathan. The setting is after David expresses his desire to build a temple for God. God points out that, during the time He “walked” with Israel and gave commands to the judges (leaders He appointed to “feed,” or shepherd, His people), He never asked for a cedar house. This highlights that building a temple was not something God demanded in the past.

The Hebrew behind 1 Chronicles 17:6

  • “walked” (הָלַךְ, halakh): This word often means to go or move about. Here, it pictures God’s close, ongoing presence with Israel, moving with them rather than being fixed in one place.
  • “feed” (רָעָה, ra‘ah): This word means to shepherd or care for. God uses it to describe the role of the judges as caretakers of His people, emphasizing guidance and protection rather than just rule.
  • “house” (בַּיִת, bayit) and “cedars” (אֶרֶז, ’erez): “House of cedars” refers to a grand, permanent building made from valuable cedar wood, which was a symbol of luxury and stability. God’s mention of this shows He never asked for an elaborate, permanent dwelling.

Why 1 Chronicles 17:6 matters

  • This verse clarifies that God’s relationship with Israel was not tied to a building; His presence was with His people wherever they went, not limited to a physical temple.
  • It helps the reader understand that the idea to build a temple came from David, not as a command from God, which shapes the way we see the later construction of the temple.
  • The verse connects to the broader story by setting up God’s promise to David: instead of David building a house for God, God will establish a “house” (dynasty) for David.

Where else these words appear

“cedars” Hebrew H730 · used in 69 verses

  • Leviticus 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
  • 1 Kings 7:2 He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
  • Psalms 148:9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:

“feed” Hebrew H7462 · used in 144 verses

  • Genesis 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
  • Psalms 49:14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
  • Jeremiah 33:12 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.