At the beginning of the chapter, David comes to Natan the prophet and expresses his desire to build a House for Hashem. Natan responds, "Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you." However, this approval was solely Natan's own assessment. That very night, the word of Hashem came to him, and Natan returns to David to inform him that he is now conveying not his own opinion, but Hashem's: "It is not you who will build Me the House to dwell in." This is not a rejection, but rather a profound promise: David's seed will build the House, and his throne will be established forever. From this point forward comes David's response - a prayer of thanksgiving filled with humility and recognition of the Creator's greatness, which forms the main focus of our lesson.
וַיָּבֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִיד וַיֵּשֶׁב לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וַיֹּאמֶר מִי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים וּמִי בֵיתִי כִּי הֲבִיאֹתַנִי עַד הֲלֹם׃ - King David came and sat before Hashem, and said: "Who am I, Hashem God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?"
King David comes and sits before Hashem. What does "before Hashem" mean? Metzudat David explains: before the Ark. And what does he say? "Who am I" - who am I that You made me king, for I am small and lowly in myself, as was said to him: "I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep." "And what is my house" - from the perspective of family lineage as well, I have no reason for self-aggrandizement, for I descend from Ruth the Moabitess. Thus, I am unworthy from every standpoint. "That You have brought me this far" - from the shepherd's pasture You brought me all the way to royalty.
וַתִּקְטַן זֹאת בְּעֵינֶיךָ אֱלֹהִים וַתְּדַבֵּר עַל בֵּית עַבְדְּךָ לְמֵרָחוֹק וּרְאִיתַנִי כְּתוֹר הָאָדָם הַמַּעֲלָה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים׃ - And this was small in Your eyes, O God, and You spoke of Your servant's house for the distant future, and You have regarded me like the disposition of an elevated man, Hashem God.
"And this was small in Your eyes" - even all this immense greatness was considered as little in Your eyes, to the extent that You spoke about the house of Your servant regarding the distant future, promising that my descendants too will reign forever, as it says: "And I will establish him in My House and in My kingdom forever."
And what is the meaning of "k'tor ha'adam hama'alah"? Radak explains, and the Malbim follows his approach, that You have shown me great elevations in accordance with the character and nature of a great man, whereas I am lowly and humble. "Tor" is an expression of disposition, form, or character; similarly "torat ha'adam", and likewise, "Your cheeks are lovely with rows [torim]" - pearls arranged and connected in order and precise design. Thus, "and You have regarded me k'tor ha'adam" means according to the character of a man of elevated stature.
The commentary attributed to Rashi interprets this differently: "k'tor ha'adam hama'alah" - You equated me and placed me in the rank of the greatest. I was small, yet You seated me in the very same row alongside the giants of the world. According to his interpretation, "tor" means a line or row, as in "rosh tor" regarding the laws of Kilayim (the head of a vegetable row), and like the common idiom in Hebrew, "I am first in line [bator]." And this is why we say "Magen David" just as we say "Magen Avraham."
The Malbim explains in accordance with Radak's view, bringing proof from the parallel verse in Sefer Shmuel, "and this is the law [torat] of man," whose root is "tor," meaning disposition or nature. "Ha'adam" with the definite article refers to the elevated, singular, and prominent individual. Yet the Malbim adds that, based on his explanation in II Shmuel (7:19), David demonstrates from this that what he merited was not by virtue of his status as a private individual, but because he was a universal person - leading the world and the Jewish people toward the ultimate, universal rectification.
And so the Malbim explains there: This kindness was not done for me personally, for an individual named David, but rather "this is the charter of Man" - in a general, universal sense. The fact that Hashem chose the House of David, and that "the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," is not a private kindness Hashem performed for David to extract him from his distress and redeem him. Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, is orchestrating a universal process here: to bring forth Mashiach ben David from King David, and through this bring about the rectification of the entire world. Just as Hashem chose Israel from among all the nations, and just as He chose Aharon and the Kohanim to be His ministers and bless in His Name, so too He chose an enduring royal dynasty, the Davidic dynasty. It turns out that David is a link in a great chain reaching until the End of Days, until the revelation of Hashem's absolute oneness, until the world is perfected under the kingdom of the Almighty.
And proof of this is that Chazal teach that seven things were created before the world, and one of them is the name of Mashiach. This demonstrates that the matter of Mashiach, of King David, is not the private affair of a person who found himself in distress and was delivered from it. When Hashem speaks of the future in store for David, He is speaking of the universal rectification of the entire world, and therefore it is among the things that preceded the creation of the world. This is the meaning of "and this is the charter of Man" - "Man," explains the Malbim, in the collective, generic sense: humanity as a category, which transcends any single, private individual. We are dealing here with a process to rectify all of humanity. And regarding this, David says: I thank You, Hashem, that You viewed me according to the standard of the supreme, exalted Man - the universal Man - through whom rectification will come to all of mankind.
מַה יּוֹסִיף עוֹד דָּוִיד אֵלֶיךָ לְכָבוֹד אֶת עַבְדֶּךָ וְאַתָּה אֶת עַבְדְּךָ יָדָעְתָּ׃ - What more can David add to You for the honor bestowed upon Your servant, when You already know Your servant?
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: What further need does David have to ask of You, Master of the Universe, in order to bestow honor upon me, Your servant, when You already know on Your own everything I need? In the Book of Shmuel, the wording is, "And what more can David add to speak to You, when You know Your servant?" - You know all my needs, so what more can I add and say to You? Metzudat Tzion explains that the expression "You know" (yada'ta) connotes love and mercy, as in, "Only you have I known of all the families of the earth," or connection and intimacy, as in "For I have known him" regarding Avraham, and "And Adam knew Chavah his wife." Hashem connects to us, loves us, and has compassion on us.
The Malbim notes the difference in phrasing between the books, explaining that Ezra elaborates further here: Regarding this honor bestowed upon Your servant - namely, that You considered him a man of supreme standing, a figure representing all of humanity rather than merely a private individual - what more could David add, as an individual, in speaking to You? Once You have already placed me in the highest heavens, as a symbol of humanity, as the one through whom and through whose descendants humanity will be rectified, could I possibly have anything left to say as a private person? The individual pales into insignificance compared to the universal rectification; the private dimension is entirely nullified before such an exalted role.
To give an analogy: if a person were appointed king over the nation, could anyone imagine that at that very moment he would speak up and complain about a building permit issue in some town? You have been crowned king, you are the leader of the people, and you are worrying about a petty personal issue? So says David: any preoccupation with personal problems and private requests is completely out of place when I see that the destiny Hashem has given me is to be "the standard of Man," "the charter of Man."
יְהֹוָה בַּעֲבוּר עַבְדְּךָ וּכְלִבְּךָ עָשִׂיתָ אֵת כׇּל הַגְּדוּלָּה הַזֹּאת לְהֹדִיעַ אֶת כׇּל הַגְּדֻלּוֹת׃ - Hashem, for the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have performed all this greatness, to make known all these great deeds.
The commentary attributed to Rashi connects this verse to what follows: Therefore You acted to make known to me all this greatness, and to inform me that it all stems from the desire of Your heart, and therefore, "Hashem, there is none like You." And lest one think, "There is none as great as He, but perhaps there is a power slightly lesser than Him?" Scripture immediately adds, "and there is no God beside You" - even among the nations, "according to all that we have heard with our ears" all our days. There is no comparable entity, none close, and none approximate; there is nothing besides Him alone.
The Malbim notes the variation from the text in Shmuel: "For the sake of Your word, and according to Your own heart, You have performed all this greatness, to make it known to Your servant; therefore You are great, Hashem God, for there is none like You, and there is no God beside You." There, the Malbim explained that this revelation is like all revelations that Hashem conveys through His prophets - universal matters concerning the entire nation, the ultimate purpose of mankind, and the culmination of generations. And through Your weaving together of all causes and effects from beginning to end, "You are great, Hashem."
And this is the language of his explanation: Hashem is described with greatness because all causes and their effects originate from Him. Nothing comes to pass except by Hashem's will and through His power. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not merely bring about the end result; He is the Prime Cause of all causes, structuring every plan so that it leads to that result, from the very first cause to the ultimate effect. From beginning to end, there is none beside Him, and He has acted, acts, and will act in all deeds.
And why is "there none like You"? Because all the forces that the Holy One, blessed be He, placed in dominion over creation are limited powers. When He appoints an angel over a particular nation, that is a limited power acting specifically in that given sphere. But the power of the Holy One, blessed be He, is to act from beginning to end. And this is the meaning of "there is no God beside You" - "God" (Elohim) here in the sense of power. Even the forces He set to rule over creation - the celestial princes, the stars, and the celestial spheres, all of which are called "gods" in the sense of possessors of power - have no power like Yours, for You created them and their power derives from You, and You determine all things to the ultimate end of their effects from primeval beginnings.
Here, the Malbim explains, Ezra adds: You performed all this greatness "to make known all these great deeds," "for the sake of Your servant and according to Your heart." These revelations were intended to disclose what is in Your heart - that the ultimate purpose is to bring perfection to the collective in the End of Days, when the Creator's unity will be revealed and Mashiach ben David will be revealed, with all historical developments leading toward this divine plan. "For the sake of Your servant" - so that through this he would know that there is none like You. For the entire purpose of the creation of the world is "Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him" (Yeshayahu 43:7); everything was created for His honor. At present, however, this reality is concealed, because we are still in the world of action and spiritual labor - of overcoming the evil inclination and revealing the glory of Heaven. But ultimately, as taught by the Ramchal in Da'as Tevunos, this will be fully revealed, and then the world will be perfected under the sovereignty of the Almighty.
And what is the meaning of "and according to Your heart You have done" in Shmuel? The Malbim explains that this is parenthetical. The primary thrust of the verse is: "For the sake of Your word [You did] all this greatness to make it known to Your servant, therefore You are great, Hashem God" - through what You spoke and made known through a prophet regarding all this greatness, in that You made known Your greatness. And "according to Your heart You have done" comes to teach that we have no grasp, as the Ramchal writes, of the divine plans: why the Holy One, blessed be He, guides events in this specific way and not another, and how they are intended to lead to His complete unity. These are subterranean processes, workings taking place beneath the surface of which we have no comprehension. It is clear only that everything occurring throughout all eras of world history is meant to lead to this ultimate perfection. "According to Your heart You have done" - You act and direct matters according to Your heart, in accordance with Your hidden will that lies beyond our grasp. Yet the ultimate purpose is known: to make known to Your servant the goal for which the world was created, that His Name be magnified and sanctified, and through this, "You are great, Hashem God."
יְהֹוָה אֵין כָּמוֹךָ וְאֵין אֱלֹהִים זוּלָתֶךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְנוּ בְּאׇזְנֵינוּ׃ - Hashem, there is none like You, and there is no God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
"There is none like You" - so that from this we may appreciate the depth of Your thoughts. This fundamental principle has been explained before: all human understanding operates by way of comparison. If someone wishes to explain what a wolf is, he might ask: Do you know what a dog is? A wolf resembles a dog. You are familiar with animals, so one compares the unknown to the known, and through that you understand. But what do we know about Godliness that could possibly serve as a comparison? We have nothing close, nothing similar, nothing belonging to that realm of concepts from which an analogy could be drawn. This is the meaning of "To whom then will you liken Me, that I should be equal?" (Yeshayahu 40:25) - it is impossible to compare the Holy One, blessed be He, to anything, for we do not possess even the faintest reflection or pale shadow of an analogy for the Creator's true existence. "There is none like You"; and were there anything comparable, there might be some starting point for grasping His divinity, but "no thought can grasp Him at all."
Metzudas David adds: "There is none like You" - there is none similar to You from whom we could appreciate the depth of Your thoughts. "And there is no God beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears" - matching all the wondrous things we have heard with our ears. That is to say, David is not attempting to evaluate the Holy One, blessed be He, according to His true essence, of which we have no grasp whatsoever; rather, even within the realm of what we have heard with our ears - miracles, signs, mastery over nature, the creation of the world - which are merely a minute fraction of His infinite reality, even that fraction has nothing to which it can be compared.
וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הָלַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים לִפְדּוֹת לוֹ עָם לָשׂוּם לְךָ שֵׁם גְּדֻלּוֹת וְנֹרָאוֹת לְגָרֵשׁ מִפְּנֵי עַמְּךָ אֲשֶׁר פָּדִיתָ מִמִּצְרַיִם גּוֹיִם׃ - And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Yourself a name of great and awesome deeds, driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed from Egypt?
In what way is Israel unique among all nations? The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: in that God Himself went to redeem for Himself a people, as it is written, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt" (Shemos 12:12), and for no other nation did He do so. And this is what we say: "Did ever such a great thing happen, or was the like of it heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?" (Devarim 4:32-33), and likewise: "Or has God ventured to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm..." (ibid. 4:34). The Holy One, blessed be He, performed signs and wonders for you and took you out as a nation from the midst of another nation, and there is nothing like it in the world.
"To make for Yourself a name of great and awesome deeds" - acts through which His Name is magnified and sanctified in His world. "Driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed from Egypt" - since You are unique in Your world, and Your people Israel are distinct from all other nations, it is fitting for a singular King to redeem a singular nation. And so the Holy One, blessed be He, said: I am singular in My world and Avraham is singular in his world; I Myself will deliver Avraham from the fiery furnace. From the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, we learn the stature of Israel, for He did not do so for any other nation.
The Malbim notes the variation in phrasing: in Shmuel it says, "whom God went [halchu, plural] to redeem for Himself as a people," and Rashi explains there that His emissaries, Moshe and Aharon, went, with elohim meaning emissaries and masters of power sent by God - just as we say "God of gods" (Elohei ha-elohim), the God above all powers and emissaries in creation. Ezra here, however, interprets the name Elohim as a sacred name referring to God Himself, rather than referring back to Moshe and Aharon. Therefore, he modified the wording and wrote, "whom God went [halach, singular]" - HaElohim with the definite article, referring to the Holy One, blessed be He, and halach in the singular, for it speaks of the one singular God.
The Malbim notes further: Israel was already a people to Him before He redeemed them, for they were called a people even prior to the Exodus from Egypt, when Hashem sent Moshe to His people. And regarding "to make for Yourself a name" - in Shmuel it says: "to make for Him a name, and to do for you great and awesome things for Your land, from before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, nations and their gods" - the verse there is very difficult, and the Malbim explains it there at length. Here, however, he explains that Ezra is teaching us that these are parallel clauses: to make for Him a name through the great and awesome deeds, and to do for you - for your land. There are two dimensions here: the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is magnified, and the salvation He wrought for us.
וַתִּתֵּן אֶת עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְךָ לְעָם עַד עוֹלָם וְאַתָּה יְהֹוָה הָיִיתָ לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים׃ - And You made Your people Israel Your people forever, and You, Hashem, became God to them.
Metzudat David comments: "To be Your people forever" - and He will not replace them with another nation. This is a slap in the face to all the nations that claim there were changes and updates along the way, and that at some point the Holy One, blessed be He, abandoned the Jewish people and chose the Christians or the Muslims. Here we see that their mouths speak vanity. We have an everlasting covenant with the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated in several places, such as: "If these laws depart from before Me, says Hashem, so too the seed of Israel will cease from being a nation before Me all the days." And that is what is said here: You made Your people Israel Your people forever, and He will never exchange them for another nation.
וְעַתָּה יְהֹוָה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ עַל עַבְדְּךָ וְעַל בֵּיתוֹ יֵאָמֵן עַד עוֹלָם וַעֲשֵׂה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ׃ - And now, Hashem, let the word that You spoke concerning Your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as You have spoken.
"Ye'amen" (let it be established) is an expression of affirmation and enduring fulfillment, meaning that the matter be upheld, that kingship will come from my descendants. This is just like answering "Amen," which means "may this matter be fulfilled," or like the woman who says "Amen, Amen," accepting the matter and affirming its validity, or as in "And I will fasten him as a tent peg in a secure place (makom ne'eman)" - a peg that will not budge, something with lasting permanence. This is David's request: what was spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house - that from his lineage will come the king, and ultimately the Mashiach - let it be established forever, and do as You have spoken.
The Malbim notes a precise distinction: in Shmuel, David asks to "establish" (hakem) the matter, whereas here Ezra indicates that one need not pray for Hashem to fulfill His word, but only that it "be confirmed" (ye'amen). For what Hashem has spoken He will certainly perform, and there is no need to ask for that. Could it possibly enter one's mind that if I pray, He will fulfill His promise, and if I do not pray, He is not bound by it? That is unthinkable.
Rather, the Malbim explains, along the way there are delays. There are exiles; there is a state of distance. And indeed, this is what led the nations to claim that the Holy One, blessed be He, had abandoned Israel: seeing Israel battered and outcast in their exile, driven from their land, they deduced that He had forsaken them entirely. To this David pleads: Master of the Universe, it is obvious to me that at the end of days You will redeem us with an eternal redemption and fulfill Your word, and for the actual fulfillment (the "hakem") I have no need to ask at all. But because there are people whose faith wavers, I ask "let it be confirmed and let Your Name be magnified" - that even during the exile we should have signs, wonders, and tokens showing that the Holy One, blessed be He, remains faithful to His people, so that they do not lose their faith during the prolonged exile. For when salvation is delayed there is a desecration of Hashem's Name, but when Hashem brings us salvations already now, His Name is thereby confirmed and magnified, and all see that the Holy One, blessed be He, is still the King ruling His world and redeeming His people.
וְיֵאָמֵן וְיִגְדַּל שִׁמְךָ עַד עוֹלָם לֵאמֹר יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וּבֵית דָּוִיד עַבְדְּךָ נָכוֹן לְפָנֶיךָ׃ - And let it be confirmed, and let Your Name be magnified forever, saying, 'Hashem of Hosts, the God of Israel, is God to Israel; and the house of David Your servant is established before You.'
"And let it be confirmed and let Your Name be magnified forever, saying" - that everyone will proclaim, "Hashem of Hosts, the God of Israel, is God to Israel." And in the words of the Malbim, let them say this already now; let the matter be confirmed and recognized even now. "And the house of David Your servant is established before You" - for You promised that his throne would be established forever, and my request is that this should be evident already now.
כִּי אַתָּה אֱלֹהַי גָּלִיתָ אֶת אֹזֶן עַבְדְּךָ לִבְנוֹת לוֹ בָּיִת עַל כֵּן מָצָא עַבְדְּךָ לְהִתְפַּלֵּל לְפָנֶיךָ׃ - "For You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house; therefore Your servant has found heart to pray before You."
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains: Surely it is fitting for You, Master of the Universe, to fulfill Your words, for You Yourself revealed to me that You would build me a house, as it is stated, "And I tell you that Hashem will build you a house," and so the prophet told me in Your name. And this very fact gives me the courage to ask: since You disclosed these matters to me in advance, I found the boldness to pray for them. Had You not told me Yourself that You would bring upon me and my descendants all this good, it would never have crossed my mind to ask, for it would be far too presumptuous to make such requests. But since You have revealed this to Your servant, I have standing to ask.
וְעַתָּה יְהֹוָה אַתָּה הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים וַתְּדַבֵּר עַל עַבְדְּךָ הַטּוֹבָה הַזֹּאת׃ - "And now, Hashem, You are God, and You have promised this goodness concerning Your servant."
A person may receive a promise from a friend that goes unfulfilled for one of two reasons: either the person promised without intending to keep it, or he genuinely wished to keep it but lacked the power, having assumed he could only to realize it was beyond his control, constrained by other forces and his own limitations. With the Holy One, Blessed be He, neither of these shortcomings exists. "You are God" - the Master of all powers, for El denotes power and Elohim encompasses all forces, meaning You possess the absolute power to fulfill Your word. "And You have promised this goodness concerning Your servant" - there is no reason to fear, as with flesh and blood, that He made a promise He will not keep, for "Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens" and "the word of our God shall stand forever"; this pronouncement will surely endure. This is particularly so because it was already conveyed through prophecy by the mouth of the prophet, and a promise of good is never rescinded. In the case of a decree of misfortune, one might repent, or Hashem might defer it, saying "I will not bring the evil in his days," or He may cancel the decree entirely because the person humbled himself before Him. But with a promise of good, Hashem always fulfills His word, and it remains an eternal promise.
וְעַתָּה הוֹאַלְתָּ לְבָרֵךְ אֶת בֵּית עַבְדְּךָ לִהְיוֹת לְעוֹלָם לְפָנֶיךָ כִּי אַתָּה יְהֹוָה בֵּרַכְתָּ וּמְבֹרָךְ לְעוֹלָם׃ - "And now, You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, Hashem, have blessed, and it is blessed forever."
"And now You have been pleased" - that is, since this is so, explains the Metzudat David, I no longer need to pray for the fulfillment of the promise itself. What, then, is my request? That You bless the house of Your servant to be before You forever: grant them a pure heart, that they may walk in Your Torah, cleave to You, and be worthy of receiving the promises. "For You, Hashem, have blessed, and it is blessed forever" - whomever You bless is blessed forever, so there is no obstacle on the part of the One Who blesses. The only potential obstacle lies on the part of the recipient, lest my children prove unworthy. Therefore, Master of the Universe, bless them with a heart to serve You wholeheartedly, so that no obstacle will arise from the recipient's side.
On the surface, this raises a puzzling question that has been discussed before: how can one pray for fear of Heaven? "And place in our hearts understanding to comprehend and to discern" is understandable, for understanding relates to knowledge and insight into Torah. But when we ask the Holy One, Blessed be He, to plant fear of Heaven within us and bring us back in complete repentance before Him, this belongs to the realm of things in which God does not intervene, for "everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven." It is as if the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: "This is not in My hands but in yours, so why are you praying for it?"
We have already explained several times the teachings of Rav Dessler in Michtav Me-Eliyahu. The intention is not that God should choose the good in our stead, for if so, where is my spiritual labor? Should He choose the good for me and also receive the World to Come for me? The entire purpose is that I merit eternal life! Rather, the purpose of the prayer is that You elevate our level of free choice. No person is without free choice, but one person's point of choice is whether to steal or murder, while another person's point of choice is whether to pray three times a day. Another will certainly pray, and his question is whether he will concentrate throughout all three prayers; yet another will certainly concentrate, and his point of choice is whether to incorporate the mystical intentions of the Rashash as well. Everyone possesses free choice, from the one wrestling with whether to murder to Moshe Rabbeinu; the difference between them lies solely in their plane of choice. What we ask is that You elevate the level of our free choice: let us still face trials and make choices, but on a higher plane - not regarding base transgressions, but concerning subtle nuances. This is also David's request here: make us more worthy, so that no obstacle will arise on the part of those who receive the blessing.
In this chapter, David is told that he will not build the Temple, but rather his offspring, and that his throne will be established forever. David comes and sits before the Ark, beginning with absolute humility: "Who am I, and what is my house?" - I am unworthy, neither in my own right nor on account of my lineage. From there, he ascends to the profound recognition of "according to the estate of a man of high degree": what he was granted is not a personal favor to a man named David, but the selection of a royal dynasty through which the rectification of all humanity will come about, culminating in the revelation of God's oneness and the arrival of Mashiach ben David; therefore, what more can David as a private individual say? From there he turns to the praise of the Omnipresent: "There is none like You," with nothing to compare to Him and no power other than Him, for He is the Prime Cause of all causes from beginning to end; and to the uniqueness of Israel, whom God Himself went to redeem, making them His people forever without ever replacing them. Finally, he makes two requests: "Let it be established" - that faith will not be lost throughout the long exile and that His Name will be sanctified even now; and "You have been pleased to bless" - that his descendants merit a pure heart and reach a spiritual level where they remain worthy to receive the blessing.
With this, we have concluded Chapter 17.