1 When the king was settled in his palace, and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies,
2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "Look! I’m living in a cedar palace, but God’s chest is housed in a tent!"
3 Nathan said to the king, "Go ahead and do whatever you are thinking, because the Lord is with you."
4 But that very night the Lord’s word came to Nathan:
5 Go to my servant David and tell him: This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build the temple for me to live in.
6 In fact, I haven’t lived in a temple from the day I brought Israel out of Egypt until now. Instead, I have been traveling around in a tent and in a dwelling.
7 Throughout my traveling around with the Israelites, did I ever ask any of Israel’s tribal leaders I appointed to shepherd my people: Why haven’t you built me a cedar temple?