1Now 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 . 2Then Nathan said unto David , Do all that is in thine heart ; for God is with thee. 3And it came to pass the same night , that the word of God came to Nathan , saying , 4Go and tell David my servant , Thus saith the LORD , Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in : 5For 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 . 6Wheresoever 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 ?
The Promise of an Everlasting Kingdom
7Now 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 : 8And 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 . 9Also 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 , 10And 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 . 11And 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 . 12He shall build me an house , and I will stablish his throne for ever . 13I 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: 14But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever : and his throne shall be established for evermore .
David's Response to God's Promise
15According to all these words , and according to all this vision , so did Nathan speak unto David . 16And 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 ? 17And 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 . 18What can David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant ? for thou knowest thy servant . 19O 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 . 20O LORD , there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears . 21And 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 ? 22For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever ; and thou, LORD , becamest their God . 23Therefore now, LORD , let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever , and do as thou hast said . 24Let it even be established , that thy name may be magnified for ever , 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. 25For thou, O my God , hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house : therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee. 26And now, LORD , thou art God , and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant : 27Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant , that it may be before thee for ever : for thou blessest , O LORD , and it shall be blessed for ever .