1And 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;

2that 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.

3And Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee.

4And it came to pass in that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying,

5Go, and say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in.

6For 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,

7wheresoever 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?

8And 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.

9And 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.

10And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant ²⁵them, 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,

11from 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.

12And 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.

13He shall build for me a house to my name, and I will set up his throne even for ever.

14I 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.

15But my mercy I will not take from him, as I took it from those whom I removed from my presence.

16And his house shall be made sure, and his kingdom for ever before me, and his throne shall be set up for ever.

17According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

18And 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 ²⁶hitherto?

19Whereas 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?

20And what shall David yet say to thee? and now thou knowest thy servant, O Lord, my Lord.

21And 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,

22that he may magnify thee, O my Lord; for there is no one ²⁷like thee, and there is no God but thou among all of whom we have heard with our ears.

23And 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?

24And thou hast prepared for thyself thy people Israel to be a people for ever, and thou, Lord, art become their God.

25And 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,

26Let thy name be magnified for ever. ²⁸

27Almighty 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.

28And now, O Lord my Lord, thou art God; and thy words will be true, and thou hast spoken these good things concerning thy servant.

29And now begin and bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O Lord, my Lord, hast spoken, and the house of thy servant shall be blessed with thy blessing so as to continue for ever.