2 Samuel 7:1-19 ▼

1 WHEN the king dwelt in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies,

2 The king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtains.

3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you.

4 And it came to pass that very night, the word of the LORD came to Nathan, the prophet, saying.

5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the LORD, You shall not build me a house for me to dwell in;

6 Because I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, to this day, but I have moved in tents.

7 In all the places where I have walked with all the children of Israel, have I spoken to any of those whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

8 Now therefore shall you say to my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep. to be the ruler over my people Israel;

9 And I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies from before you, and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great men that are on the earth.

10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them and make them to dwell in their own place in peace and be disturbed no more; neither shall wicked men enslave them any more, as formerly.

11 From the day that I commanded you to be a judge over my people Israel, I have given you rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD declares to you that he will make you a house.

12 And when your days are fulfilled and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come out of your loins, and I will establish his kingdom.

13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

14 I will be like a father to him and he shall be like a son to me. If he commit folly, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men;

15 But my mercy I will not take from him, as I took it from Saul who was king before you, and whom I put away from before me.

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.

17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan the prophet speak to David.

18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that thou hast elevated me to this place?

19 And is this yet a small thing in thy sight, O LORD God, that thou hast spoken also concerning thy servant's descendants for a great while to come? Is this for the guidance of men, O LORD God?