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¹ And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet: 'Lo, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD dwelleth under curtains.'² And Nathan said unto David: 'Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.' ³ And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying:⁴ 'Go and tell David My servant: Thus saith the LORD: 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, unto this day; but have [gone] from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle [to another].⁶ In all places wherein I have walked among all Israel, spoke I a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people, saying: Why have ye not built Me a house of cedar?⁷ Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto My servant David: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest 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 I will make thee a name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth.⁹ And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disquieted no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first,¹⁰ even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will subdue all thine enemies. Moreover I tell thee that the LORD 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, who shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.¹² He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever.¹³ I will be to him for a father, and he shall be to Me for a son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee;¹⁴ but 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 unto David.

¹⁶ Then David the king went in, and sat before the LORD; and he said: 'Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me thus far?¹⁷ And this was a small thing in Thine eyes, O God; but Thou hast spoken of Thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me after the manner of a man of high degree, O LORD God.¹⁸ What can David say yet more unto Thee concerning the honour which is done to Thy servant? for Thou knowest Thy servant.¹⁹ O LORD, for Thy servant's sake, and according to Thine own heart, hast Thou wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things.²⁰ O LORD, 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, a nation one in the earth, whom God went to redeem unto Himself for a people, to make Thee a name by great and tremendous things, in driving out nations from before Thy people, whom Thou didst redeem out of Egypt.²² For Thy people Israel didst Thou make Thine own people for ever; and Thou, LORD, becamest their God.²³ And 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 spoken.²⁴ Yea, let it be established, and let Thy name be magnified for ever, that it may be said: The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and the house of David Thy servant shall be established before Thee.²⁵ For Thou, O my God, hast revealed to Thy servant that Thou wilt build him a house; therefore hath Thy servant taken heart to pray before Thee.²⁶ And now, O LORD, Thou alone art God, and hast promised this good thing unto Thy servant;²⁷ and now it hath pleased Thee to bless the house of Thy servant, that it may continue for ever before Thee; for Thou, O LORD, hast blessed, and so let [Thy servant] be blessed for ever.'