1 When the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around,
2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but God’s ark dwells within curtains.”
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart; for the Lord is with you.”
4 That same night, the Lord’s word came to Nathan, saying,
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘the Lord says, “Should you build me a house for me to dwell in?
6 For I have not lived in a house since the day that I brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt, even to this day, but have moved around in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7 In all places in which I have walked with all the children of Israel, did I say a word to any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”’