1. King David was settled in his palace, and the Lord kept him safe from all his enemies.
2. Then 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!”
3. Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because the Lord is with you.”
4. But 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.
6. From 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.
7. In all my travelling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders 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.
9. I 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.