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.’
4 “Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s household to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah, my father’s household, and from my father’s sons, He was pleased to make me king over all Israel.
5 And out of all my sons — 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.
6 He said to me, ‘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.’
8 “So now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and follow all the commands of the Lord your God so that you may possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
9 “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.