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¹ And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest around from all his enemies;² That the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.³ And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that [is] in thy heart: for the LORD [is] with thee.

⁴ And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,⁵ Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Wilt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?⁶ Whereas I have not dwelt in [any] house since the time that I brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent, and in a tabernacle.⁷ In all [the places] in which I have walked with all the children of Israel have I spoken a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why do ye not build me a house of cedar?⁸ Now therefore so shalt thou say to my servant David, thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheep-cote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:⁹ And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thy enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like to the name of the great [men] that [are] in the earth.¹⁰ Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly.¹¹ And as since the time that I commanded judges [to be] over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thy enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee a house.¹² And when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.¹⁴ I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he shall commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:¹⁵ But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took [it] from Saul, whom I put away before thee.¹⁶ And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.¹⁷ According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.

¹⁸ Then king David 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 hitherto;¹⁹ And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And [is] this the manner of man, O Lord GOD?²⁰ And what can David say more to thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.²¹ For thy word's sake, and according to thy own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know [them].²² Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for [there is] none like thee, neither [is there any] God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.²³ And what one nation in the earth [is] like thy people, [even] like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, [from] the nations and their gods?²⁴ For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel [to be] a people to thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.²⁵ And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish [it] for ever, and do as thou hast said.²⁶ And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts [is] the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.²⁷ For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee.²⁸ And now, O Lord GOD, thou [art] that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness to thy servant:²⁹ Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken [it]: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.