| 1 | And it came to pass as David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah under curtains. |
| 2 | And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee. |
| 3 | And it came to pass that night that the word of God came to Nathan saying, |
| 4 | Go and say to David my servant, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in; |
| 5 | for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day; but I have been from tent to tent, and from [one] tabernacle [to another]. |
| 6 | In all my going about with all Israel, did I speak a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why build ye me not a house of cedars? |
| 7 | And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel; |
| 8 | and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth. |
| 9 | And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness waste them any more, as formerly, |
| 10 | and since the days that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I will subdue all thine enemies; and I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house. |
| 11 | And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go [to be] with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. |
| 12 | It is he who shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever. |
| 13 | I will be his father, and he shall be my son; and I will not take away my mercy from him, as I took it from him that was before thee; |
| 14 | and I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever. |
| 15 | According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David. |
| 16 | And king David went in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, Jehovah Elohim, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? |
| 17 | And this hath been a small thing in thy sight, O God; and thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, Jehovah Elohim. |
| 18 | What can David [say] more to thee for the glory of thy servant? thou indeed knowest thy servant. |
| 19 | Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make known all these great things. |
| 20 | Jehovah, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. |
| 21 | And who is like thy people Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, which thou hast redeemed out of Egypt? |
| 22 | And thy people Israel hast thou made thine own people for ever; and thou, Jehovah, art become their God. |
| 23 | And now, Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said. |
| 24 | Let it even be established, and let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, is God to Israel; and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee. |
| 25 | For thou, my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build him a house; therefore hath thy servant found [in his heart] to pray before thee. |
| 26 | And now, Jehovah, thou art that God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant; |
| 27 | and now, let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou, Jehovah, hast blessed [it], and it shall be blessed for ever. |