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¹ Forsothe it was doon, whanne the kyng Dauid hadde sete in his hows, and the Lord hadde youe reste to hym on ech side fro alle hise enemyes,² he seyde to Nathan the prophete, Seest thou not, that Y dwelle in an hows of cedre, and the arke of God is put in the myddis of skynnys?³ And Nathan seide to the kyng, Go thou, and do al thing which is in thin herte, for the Lord is with thee.

⁴ Forsothe it was don in that niyt, and lo! the word of the Lord, seiynge to Nathan, Go thou,⁵ and speke to my servaunt Dauid, The Lord seith these thingis, Whether thou schalt bilde to me an hows to dwelle ynne?⁶ For Y `dwellide not in an hows fro the dai in which Y ledde the sones of Israel out of the lond of Egipt til in to this dai; but Y yede in tabernacle and in tent,<sup>7</sup> bi alle places, to whiche Y passyde with alle the sones of Israel? Whether Y spekynge spak to oon of the lynagis of Israel, to whom Y comaundyde, that he schulde feede my puple Israel, and seide, Whi `bildidist thou not an hows of cedre to me?⁸ And now thou schalt seie these thingis to my seruaunt Dauid, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Y took thee fro lesewis suynge flockis, that thou schuldist be duyk on my puple Israel, and Y was with thee in alle thingis,⁹ where euere thou yedist, and Y killide alle thin enemyes fro thi face, and Y made to thee a greet name bi the name of grete men that ben in erthe;¹⁰ and Y schall sette a place to my puple Israel, and Y schal plaunte hym, and Y schal dwelle with hym, and he schal no more be troblid, and the sones of wickidnesse schulen not adde, that thei turmente hym as bifor,¹¹ fro the dai in which Y ordenede iugis on my puple Israel; and Y schal yyue reste to thee fro alle thin enemyes. And the Lord biforseith to thee, that `the Lord schal mak an hows to thee;<sup>12</sup> and whanne thi daies be fillid, and thou hast slept with thi fadris, Y schal reyse thi seed aftir thee, which schal go out of thi wombe, and Y schal make `stidfast his rewme.¹³ He schal bilde an hows to my name, and Y schal make stable the troone of his rewme til in to with outen ende;¹⁴ Y schal be to hym in to fadir, and he schal be to me in to a sone; and if he schal do ony thing wickidli, Y schal chastise hym in the yerde of men, and in the woundis of the sones of men.¹⁵ Forsothe Y schal not do awey my mercy fro hym, as Y dide awei fro Saul, whom Y remouede fro my face.¹⁶ And thin hows schal be feithful, and thi rewme schal be til in to with outen ende bifor my face, and thi trone schal be stidfast contynueli.¹⁷ By alle these wordys, and bi al this reuelacioun, so Nathan spak to Dauid.

¹⁸ Forsothe Dauid the kyng entride, and satt bifor the Lord, and seide, Who am Y, my Lord God, and what is myn hows, that thou brouytist me hidur to?¹⁹ But also this is seyn litil in thi siyt, my Lord God; no but thou schuldist speke also of the hows of thi seruaunt in to long tyme. Forsothe this is the lawe of Adam, Lord God;²⁰ what therfor may Dauid adde yit, that he speke to thee? For thou, Lord God, knowist thi seruaunt; thou hast do alle these grete thingis,²¹ for thi word, and bi thin herte, so that thou madist knowun to thi seruaunt.²² Herfor, Lord God, thou art magnyfied, for noon is lijk thee, ne there is no God outakun thee, in alle thingis whiche we herden with oure eeris.²³ Sotheli what folk in erthe is as the puple of Israel, for which the Lord God yede, that he schulde ayenbie it to him in to a puple, and schulde sette to hym silf a name, and schulde do to it grete thingis, and orible on erthe, in castinge out therof the folk and `goddis therof fro the face of thi puple, which thou `ayen bouytist to thee fro Egipt?²⁴ And thou confermidist to thee thi puple Israel in to a puple euerlastynge, and thou, Lord, art maad in to God to hem.²⁵ Now therfor, Lord God, reise thou withouten ende the word that thou hast spoke on thi seruaunt and on his hows, and do as thou hast spoke;²⁶ and thy name be magnyfied til in to withouten ende, and be it seid, The Lord of oostis is God on Israel; and the hows of thi seruaunt Dauid schal be stablischid byfor the Lord;²⁷ for thou, Lord of oostis, God of Israel, hast maad reuelacioun to the eere of thi seruaunt, and seidist, Y schal bilde an hows to thee; therfor thi seruaunt foond his herte, that he schulde preie thee bi this preier.²⁸ Now therfor, Lord God, thou art veri God, and thi wordis schulen be trewe; for thou hast spoke these goodis to thi seruaunt;²⁹ therfor bigynne thou, and blesse the hows of thi seruaunt, that it be withouten ende bifor thee; for thou, Lord God, hast spoke these thingis, and bi thi blessyng the hows of thi seruaunt schal be blessid withouten ende.