1. The king settled into his palace, for the Lord gave him relief from all his enemies on all sides.
2. The king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of God sits in the middle of a tent.”
3. Nathan replied to the king, “You should go and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”
4. That night the Lord told Nathan,
5. “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in?
6. I have not lived in a house from the time I brought the Israelites up from Egypt to the present day. Instead, I was traveling with them and living in a tent.
7. Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?”’
8. “So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you leader of my people Israel.
9. I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth.
10. I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle them there; they will live there and not be disturbed any more. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning
11. and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that he himself will build a dynastic house for you.
12. When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom.