1. When David was living in his house, he said to the prophet Nathan, “I’m living in a house made of cedar, while the ark of the Lord’s promise is inside a tent.”
2. Nathan told David, “Do everything you have in mind, because God is with you.”
3. But that same night God spoke his word to Nathan:
4. “Say to David, my servant, ‘This is what the Lord says: You must not build this house for me to live in.
5. I haven’t lived in a house from the day I brought Israel out ⌊of Egypt⌋ to this day, but I’ve gone from tent site to tent site, moving the tent ⌊of meeting⌋ from one location ⌊to another⌋.
6. In all the places I’ve moved with all Israel, did I ever ask any of the judges of Israel whom I ordered to be shepherds of my people why they didn’t build me a house of cedar?’
7. “Now this is what you will say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture where you followed sheep so that you could be the leader of my people Israel.
8. I was with you wherever you went, and I destroyed all your enemies in front of you. I will make your name like the names of the greatest people on earth.