17:1 When David had settled into his palace,¹ he² said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace³ made from cedar, while the ark of the LORD’s covenant is under a tent.”⁴ 17:2 Nathan said to David, “You should do whatever you have in mind,⁵ for God is with you.”

17:3 That night God told Nathan the prophet,⁶ 17:4 “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the LORD says: “You must not build me a house in which to live. 17:5 For I have not lived in a house from the time I brought Israel up from Egypt⁷ to the present day. I have lived in a tent that has been in various places.⁸ 17:6 Wherever I moved throughout Israel, I did not say⁹ to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel,¹⁰ ‘Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?’“‘

17:7 So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the LORD who leads armies¹¹ says: “I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd¹² to make you a leader of my people Israel. 17:8 I was with you wherever you went and I defeated¹³ all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth.¹⁴ 17:9 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle¹⁵ them there; they will live there and not be disturbed¹⁶ anymore. Violent men will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning¹⁷ 17:10 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. I will subdue all your enemies.

I declare to you that the LORD will build a “house”¹⁸ for you! 17:11 When the time comes for you to die,¹⁹ I will raise up your offspring, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. 17:12 He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent.²⁰ 17:13 I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you. 17:14 I will put him in permanent charge of my house and my kingdom; his dynasty will be permanent.”’“²¹ 17:15 Nathan told David all these words that were revealed to him.²²

17:16 David went in, sat before the LORD, and said: “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family²³ that you should have brought me to this point? 17:17 And you didn’t stop there, O God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family.²⁴ You have revealed to me what men long to know, O LORD God.²⁵ 17:18 What more can David say²⁶ to you? You have honored your servant; you have given your servant special recognition.²⁷ 17:19 O LORD, for the sake of your servant and according to your will,²⁸ you have done this great thing in order to reveal your greatness.²⁹ 17:20 O LORD, there is none like you; there is no God besides you. What we heard is true.³⁰ 17:21 And who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation³¹ in the earth? Their God³² went to claim³³ a nation for himself! You made a name for yourself by doing great and awesome acts³⁴ when you drove out³⁵ nations from before your people whom you had delivered. 17:22 You made Israel your very own nation for all time.³⁶ You, O LORD, became their God. 17:23 And now, O LORD, may the promise you made about your servant and his family become a permanent reality!³⁷ Do as you promised,³⁸ 17:24 so³⁹ it might become a reality⁴⁰ and you might gain lasting fame,⁴¹ as people say,⁴² ‘The LORD who leads armies is the God of Israel.’⁴³ David’s dynasty⁴⁴ will be established before you, 17:25 for you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a dynasty⁴⁵ for him. That is why your servant has had the courage to pray to you.⁴⁶ 17:26 Now, O LORD, you are the true God;⁴⁷ you have made this good promise to your servant.⁴⁸ 17:27 Now you are willing to bless your servant’s dynasty⁴⁹ so that it might stand permanently before you, for you, O LORD, have blessed it and it will be blessed on into the future.”⁵⁰