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¹ NOW it came to pass when David dwelt in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house which is covered with the beams of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is resting in the midst of the tent of hair of goats.² Then Nathan said to David, Go and do all that is in your heart.³ And it came to pass that same night, the word of the LORD came to Nathan the prophet, saying,⁴ Go and thus say to my servant David, You shall 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 out of Egypt to this day; but I moved from tent to tent.⁶ Behold, wherever I have walked with all Israel, did I speak a word to any of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to judge my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house which is covered with cedars?⁷ Now therefore thus shall you say to my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the sheepfold, even from following the sheep, that you should be king over my people Israel;⁸ And I have been with you wheresoever you went and have destroyed your enemies from before you, and I have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.⁹ I will also appoint a place for my people Israel and will cause them to settle, and they shall dwell in their place and shall be moved no more; neither shall the wicked men carry them captive any more, as formerly.¹⁰ And since the day that I made you a judge over my people Israel, I have given you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD has declared to you that the kingdom is established for ever.¹¹ And it shall come to pass when your days are fulfilled that you shall go to be gathered with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come out of your loins, and I will establish him in your kingdom.¹² He shall build a house to my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.¹³ I will be his father and he shall be my son; and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from Saul, who was before you.¹⁴ But I will make him a ruler in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for evermore.¹⁵ According to all these words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.

¹⁶ And King David came and sat before the LORD and said, Who am I in thy presence, O LORD God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me to this eminence?¹⁷ And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O LORD God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servants house for a great while to come; for all the men who worship thee with all their heart, thou bringest out of the darkness into the light, O LORD God.¹⁸ What more can David boast to speak before thee? For the works of thy servant are known, O LORD God.¹⁹ For thou knowest that which is in the heart of thy servant, that thou hast done for him all this greatness in making great thy servant.²⁰ Therefore I know, O LORD God, there is none like thee and there is no God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.²¹ And what other nation on earth is united like thy people Israel? For thou didst reveal thyself from heaven and saved them, and for their sakes thou didst perform great and terrible wonders and brought severe plagues upon the Egyptians until thou didst bring them out from among them.²² For thy people Israel thou didst make thine own people for ever; and thou, O LORD, didst become their God.²³ Therefore now, O LORD, 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 And let thy works be established for ever, and thy name be magnified in the world for ever, so that the people shall say, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel; and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee for ever.²⁵ For thou, O my God, hast revealed the secret to thy servant, and hast said to him, Build for yourself a house; therefore thy servant has set in his heart to pray before thee this prayer.²⁶ And now, O LORD, thou art God, and all thy words are true, with which thou hast promised this goodness to thy servant;²⁷ Now therefore reveal thyself to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou, O LORD God, hast spoken, and of thy blessing shall all the houses of righteous men be blessed for ever.