16 So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God.

² And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

³ And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine.

⁴ And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel:

⁵ Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals;

⁶ Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷ Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.

⁸ Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

⁹ Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

¹⁰ Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

¹¹ Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

¹² Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

¹³ O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴ He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵ Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;

¹⁶ Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;

17 Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains.

² Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.

³ And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

⁴ Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:

⁵ For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

⁶ Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars?

⁷ Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel:

⁸ And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth.

⁹ Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,

¹⁰ And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the Lord will build thee an house.

¹¹ And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

¹² He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.

¹³ I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:

¹⁴ But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.

¹⁵ According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

¹⁶ And David the king came and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

¹⁷ And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God.

¹⁸ What can David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant.

¹⁹ O Lord, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things.

²⁰ O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²¹ And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?

²² For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Lord, becamest their God.

²³ Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.

²⁴ Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.

²⁵ For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.

²⁶ And now, Lord, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:

²⁷ Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever.