David proposeth to build God a house -- God forbiddeth him -- David's prayer and thanksgiving.

¹⁾Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains.

²⁾Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine 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⁾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 a house of cedars?

⁷⁾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.

⁸⁾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.

⁹⁾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 anymore, 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 a 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 a house, and I will stablish his throne forever.

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 forever; and his throne shall be established forevermore.

¹⁵⁾According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

¹⁶⁾And David the king came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

¹⁷⁾And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God.

¹⁸⁾What can David speak more to thee for the honor of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant.

¹⁹⁾O Lord, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

²⁰⁾O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²¹⁾And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?

²²⁾For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people forever; and thou, Lord, becamest their God.

²³⁾Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as thou hast said.

²⁴⁾Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.

²⁵⁾For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him a house; therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.

²⁶⁾And now, Lord, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant;

²⁷⁾Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee forever; for thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed forever.