^17:1When David had settled into his palace,¹ he² said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace³ made from cedar, while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under a tent.”⁴^17:2Nathan said to David, “You should do whatever you have in mind,⁵ for God is with you.”

^17:3That night God told Nathan the prophet,⁶^17:4“Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must not build me a house in which to live. ^17:5For I have not lived in a house from the time I brought Israel up from Egypt⁷ to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places.⁸

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Footnotes

1 Heb “house.”
2 Heb “David.” The pronoun “he” has been used in the translation here to avoid redundancy in keeping with contemporary English style.
3 Heb “house.”
4 Heb “tent curtains.”
5 Heb “all which is in your heart.”
6 Heb “the word of God was [i.e., came] to Nathan the prophet.”
7 The words “from Egypt” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
8 Heb “and I was from tent to tent and from tabernacle.” The words אֶל־מִשְּׁכָּן (’el-mishékan, “to tabernacle”) should probably be added at the end of the sentence to complete this prepositional phrase and produce symmetry with the preceding prepositional phrase. The words probably fell from the text by homoioteleuton. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. The point here is that the Lord moved with the tabernacle as it moved from place to place; he did not confine himself to a particular location.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.” And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: It is not you who will build me a house to dwell in. For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”

Nathan replied to David, “Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you.”

But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When David had settled into his palace, he said to the prophet Nathan, “Look! I am living in a cedar house while the ark of the Lord’s covenant is under tent curtains.”

So Nathan told David, “Do all that is on your mind, for God is with you.”

But that night the word of God came to Nathan: “Go to David my servant and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have moved from one tent site to another, and from one tabernacle location to another.

NLTNew Living Translation

When David was settled in his palace, he summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant is out there under a tent!”

Nathan replied to David, “Do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you.”

But that same night God said to Nathan,

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in. I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. My home has always been a tent, moving from one place to another in a Tabernacle.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And as David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I live in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Yahweh is under tent curtains.” And Nathan said to David, “Whatever is in your heart, do, for God is with you.”

And it happened that same night the word of God came to Nathan, saying, “Go and say to David my servant, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You are not to build a house for me to live in, for I have not lived in a house from the day that I brought out Israel unto this day. I have been from tent to tent and from tabernacle to tabernacle.

KJV 1900King James Version

Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains. Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

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