2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “I am dwelling in a cedar house, but the ark of God is sitting in a tent.”
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart because the Lord is with you.”
4 That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan:
5 Go and say to My servant David: Thus says the Lord: Do you intend to build a house for Me in which I will dwell?
6 I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought the sons of Israel from Egypt until this day. I have been moving about with a tent as My dwelling.
7 Wherever I have moved with all the sons of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?”
8 Now therefore, you will say to My servant David: Thus says the Lord of Hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following after the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.