2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the Lord’s covenant c and as a footstool d for our God. I had made preparations to build, 3 but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ e

4 “Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s household f to be king over Israel forever. g For He chose Judah as leader, h and from the house of Judah, my father’s household, and from my father’s sons, i He was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5 And out of all my sons j—for the Lord has given me many sons—He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom over Israel. k 6 He said to me, l ‘Your son Solomon is the one who is to build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he perseveres in keeping My commands and My ordinances as he is today.’ m