Chapter 17

¹ And it came to pass as David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under curtains of skins.

² And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee.

³ And it came to pass in that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ Go and say to David my servant, Thus said the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in it. ⁵ For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up Israel until this day, but I have been in a tabernacle and a ¹tent, ⁶ in all places through which I have gone with all Israel: did I ever speak to any one tribe of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why is it that ye have not built me a house of cedar? ⁷ And now thus shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus saith the Lord Almighty, I took thee from the sheepfold, ²from following the flocks, to be a ruler over my people Israel: ⁸ and I was with thee in all places whither thou wentest, and I destroyed all thine enemies from before thee, and I made for thee a name according to the name of the great ones that are upon the earth. ⁹ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I

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will plant him, and he shall dwell by himself, and shall no longer be anxious; and the son of iniquity ³shall no longer afflict him, as at the beginning, ¹⁰ and from the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel. Also I have humbled all thine enemies, and I will increase thee, and the Lord will build thee a house. ¹¹ And it shall come to pass when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy ⁴bowels, and I will ⁵establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build me a house, and I will set up his throne for ever. ¹³ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son: and my mercy will I not withdraw from him, as I withdrew it from them that were before thee. ¹⁴ And I will establish him in my house and in his kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be set up for ever.

¹⁵ According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so spoke Nathan to David.

¹⁶ And king David came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast loved me for ever? ¹⁷ And these things ⁶were little in thy sight, O God: thou hast also spoken concerning the house of thy servant ⁷for a long time to come, and thou hast looked upon me ⁸as a man looks upon his fellow, and hast exalted me, O Lord God. ¹⁸ What shall David do more toward thee to glorify thee? and thou knowest thy servant. ¹⁹ And thou hast wrought all this greatness according to thine heart. ²⁰ O Lord, there is none like thee, and there is no God beside thee, according to all things which we have heard with our ears. ²¹ Neither is there ⁹another nation upon the earth such as thy people Israel, whereas God led him in the way, to redeem a people for himself, to make for himself a great and glorious name, to cast out nations from before thy people, whom thou redeemedst out of Egypt. ²² And thou hast ¹⁰appointed thy people Israel as a people to thyself for ever; and thou, Lord, didst become a God to them. ²³ And now, Lord, let the word which thou spokest to thy servant, and concerning his house, be confirmed for ever, and do thou as thou hast spoken. ²⁴ And let thy name be established and magnified for ever, men saying, Lord, Lord, Almighty God of Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. ²⁵ For thou, O Lord my God, hast revealed to the ear of thy servant that thou wilt build him a house; therefore thy servant has found a willingness to pray before thee. ²⁶ And now, Lord, thou thyself art God, and thou hast spoken these good things concerning thy servant. ²⁷ And now thou hast begun to bless the house of thy servant, so that it should ¹¹continue for ever before thee: for thou, Lord, hast blessed it, and do thou bless it for ever.