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¹ And it happened, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I am living in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is under curtains.² And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.³ And it happened on that night, the Word of God came to Nathan, saying,⁴ Go, and you shall say to My servant David, So says Jehovah, You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in;⁵ for I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought Israel up until this day, but I have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another .⁶ Wherever I have walked up and down among all Israel, have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people, saying, Why have you not built a house of cedars for Me?⁷ And now you shall say this to My servant, to David, So says Jehovah of Hosts, I have taken you from the pasture from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel;⁸ and I have been with you wherever you have walked; and I have cut off all your enemies from before you; and have made for you a name like the name of the great ones in the earth.⁹ And I will prepare a place for My people Israel, and he will plant, and he will dwell in his place, and shall not be made to tremble any more; nor shall the sons of wickedness waste him any more, as at the first;¹⁰ yea, even from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel. And I will humble all your enemies; and I declare to you that Jehovah shall build a house for you;¹¹ and it shall be, when your days have been fulfilled to go away with your fathers, that I shall raise up your seed after you, who shall be of your sons, and I shall establish his kingdom.¹² He shall build a house for Me, and I shall establish his throne forever;¹³ I shall be a Father to him, and he shall be a son to Me; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it away from him who was before you;¹⁴ and I will make him stand in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be made to stand forever.¹⁵ According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

¹⁶ And David the king came in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, O Jehovah, and what is my house, that You have brought me thus far?¹⁷ And this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken to Your servant's house for a great while to come, and have looked upon me as a type of the Man who is on high, O Jehovah God!¹⁸ What can David add still more to You concerning the honor being put on Your servant? For You know Your servant.¹⁹ O Jehovah, for Your servant's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness, to make known all these great things.²⁰ O Jehovah, there is none like You; and there is no God except You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.²¹ And what one nation in the earth is as Your people Israel, whom God has brought out to ransom to Himself for a people, to make for Yourself a great and fearful name, to cast out the nationsfrom before Your people, whom You have ransomedout of Egypt.²² Yea, You have chosen Your people Israel for Yourself, for a people forever, and You, O Jehovah, have been God to them.²³ And now, O Jehovah, the Word that You have spoken as to Your servant, and as to his house, let it be established forever, and do as You have spoken;²⁴ let it even be established, and Your name be great forever, saying, Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel is God to Israel; and the house of Your servant David shall be made to stand before You.²⁵ For You, O my God, You have uncovered the ear of Your servant, to build a house for him; on this account Your servant has found to pray before You.²⁶ And now, O Jehovah, You are God Himself, and You speak this goodness concerning Your servant.²⁷ And now, You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, to be forever before You; for You, O Jehovah, have blessed; yea, it is blessed forever!