CHAPTER 17

¹And it happened when David was dwelling in his house that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I dwell in a cedar-wood house, but the Ark of the LORD’S Covenant is under tent curtains.” ²And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” ³And it happened on that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴“Go and say to David My servant, Thus said the LORD: It is not you who will build Me a house in which to dwell. ⁵For I have not dwelled in a house from the day I brought Israel up till this day, but I have gone about from tent to tent and from one tabernacle to another. ⁶Wherever I went about among all Israel did I speak a word with any of the tribal chiefs whom I charged to shepherd My people saying, ‘Why did you not build Me a cedarwood house?’ ⁷And now, thus shall you say to My servant, to David, Thus said the LORD of Armies: I Myself took you from the pasture, from following the flocks, to be a prince over My people Israel. ⁸And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut down all your enemies before you. And I will make you a great name like the name of the great of the earth. ⁹And I will set aside a place for My people Israel, and plant them, and they shall abide in their place and no longer quake, and the wicked shall no more afflict them as before ¹⁰as from the days when I appointed judges over My people Israel. And I will bring low all your enemies. And I tell you: the LORD shall build you a house. ¹¹When your days are full to go to your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, who will be of your sons, and I will make his kingship unshaken. ¹²He it is who shall build Me a house, and I will make his throne unshaken forever. ¹³I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to Me, and My loyalty I will not make swerve from him as I made it swerve from the one who was before you. ¹⁴And I will set him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be unshaken forever.” ¹⁵In accordance with all these words and in accordance with all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.

¹⁶And King David came and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, LORD God, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far? ¹⁷And even this is too little in Your eyes, O God, for You have spoken of Your servant’s house in distant time, and You have seen me as a man excelling, O LORD God. ¹⁸What more can David add for You in respect to the honoring of Your servant, when You know Your servant? ¹⁹LORD, for the sake of Your servant and according to Your heart You have done all these great things to make all the great things known. ²⁰LORD, there is none like You, and there is no god beside You in all that we have heard with our own ears. ²¹And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation upon earth, whom a god has gone to redeem as a people, to make You a name for great and fearsome things, to drive out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt? ²²And You made Your own people Israel to be a people for You forever, and You, O LORD, became their God. ²³And now, LORD, the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house, may it be confirmed forever, and do as You have spoken. ²⁴May it be confirmed and may Your name be great forever, saying, The LORD of Armies is God of Israel, and the house of David Your servant shall be unshaken before You. ²⁵For You, My God, have revealed to Your servant that a house will be built for him. Therefore has Your servant found the heart to pray before You. ²⁶And now, O LORD, You are God, and You have spoken of this bounty to Your servant. ²⁷And now, have the goodness to bless the house of Your servant to be before You forever, for You, LORD, have bestowed blessing and are blessed forever.”