2 Samuel 7:1–16

Nathan’s Message to David

7King David was settled in his palace, and the Lord kept him safe from all his enemies. ²Then the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but God’s Covenant Box is kept in a tent!”

³Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because the Lord is with you.” ⁴But that night the Lord said to Nathan, ⁵“Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in. ⁶From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now, I have never lived in a temple; I have travelled round living in a tent. ⁷In all my travelling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders^o that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’

⁸“So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ⁹I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. ^10–11I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land, they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to keep you safe from all your enemies and to give you descendants. ^12*When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. ¹³He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues for ever. ^14*I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him as a father punishes his son. ¹⁵But I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king. ^16*You will always have descendants, and I will make your kingdom last for ever. Your dynasty will never end.’ ”