17 Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains.

Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.

And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:

For I have not dwelt in an 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.

Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?

Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel:

And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth.

Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,

10 And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the Lord will build thee an house.

11 And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

12 He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne 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 him that was before thee:

14 But I will settle him in mine 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 unto David.

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17 After David had been living in his new palace for some time he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I’m living here in a cedar-paneled home while the Ark of the Covenant of God is out there in a tent!”

And Nathan replied, “Carry out your plan in every detail, for it is the will of the Lord.”

But that same night God said to Nathan, “Go and give my servant David this message: ‘You are not to build my temple! I’ve gone from tent to tent as my home from the time I brought Israel out of Egypt. In all that time I never suggested to any of the leaders of Israel—the shepherds I appointed to care for my people—that they should build me a cedar-lined temple.’

“Tell my servant David, ‘The Lord of heaven says to you, I took you from being a shepherd and made you the king of my people. And I have been with you everywhere you’ve gone; I have destroyed your enemies, and I will make your name as great as the greatest of the earth. And I will give a permanent home to my people Israel and will plant them in their land. They will not be disturbed again; the wicked nations won’t conquer them as they did before 10 when the judges ruled them. I will subdue all of your enemies. And I now declare that I will cause your descendants to be kings of Israel just as you are.

11 “‘When your time here on earth is over and you die, I will place one of your sons upon your throne; and I will make his kingdom strong. 12 He is the one who shall build me a temple, and I will establish his royal line of descent forever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son; I will never remove my mercy and love from him as I did from Saul. 14 I will place him over my people and over the kingdom of Israel forever—and his descendants will always be kings.’”

15 So Nathan told King David everything the Lord had said.

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