1 And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him an inheritance on every side free from all his enemies round about him;
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, Behold now, I live in a house of cedar, and the ark of the Lord dwells in the midst of a tent.
5 Go, and say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in.
6 For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt to this day, but I have been walking in a lodge and in a tent,
7 wheresoever I went with all Israel. Have I ever spoken to any of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to tend my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar?
8 And now thus shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord Almighty, I took thee from the sheep-cote, that thou shouldest be a prince over my people, over Israel.
9 And I was with thee wheresoever thou wentest, and I destroyed all thine enemies before thee, and I made thee renowned according to the renown of the great ones on the earth.
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell by themselves, and shall be no more distressed; and the son of iniquity shall no more afflict them, as he has done from the beginning,
11 from the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel: and I will give thee rest from all thine enemies, and the Lord will tell thee that thou shalt build a house to him.
12 And it shall come to pass when thy days shall have been fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, even thine own issue, and I will establish his kingdom.
14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. And when he happens to transgress, then will I chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men.
16 And his house shall be made sure, and his kingdom for ever before me, and his throne shall be set up for ever.
18 And king David came in, and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord, my Lord, and what is my house, that thou hast loved me hitherto?
19 Whereas I was very little before thee, O Lord, my Lord, yet thou spokest concerning the house of thy servant for a long time to come . And is this the law of man, O Lord, my Lord?
21 And thou hast wrought for thy servant's sake, and according to thy heart thou hast wrought all this greatness, to make it known to thy servant,
22 that he may magnify thee, O my Lord; for there is no one like thee, and there is no God but thou among all of whom we have heard with our ears.
23 And what other nation in the earth is as thy people Israel? whereas God was his guide, to redeem for himself a people to make thee a name, to do mightily and nobly, so that thou shouldest cast out nations and their tabernacles from the presence of thy people, whom thou didst redeem for thyself out of Egypt?
24 And thou hast prepared for thyself thy people Israel to be a people for ever, and thou, Lord, art become their God.
25 And now, O my Lord, the Almighty Lord God of Israel, confirm the word for ever which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and his house: and now as thou hast said,
27 Almighty Lord God of Israel, thou hast uncovered the ear of thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore thy servant has found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee.