² King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I wanted to build a temple where the ark of the Lord’s covenant could be placed as a footstool for our God.^[a] I have made the preparations for building it. ³ But God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple to honor me,^[b] for you are a warrior and have spilled blood.’ ⁴ The Lord God of Israel chose me out of my father’s entire family to become king over Israel and have a permanent dynasty.^[c] Indeed,^[d] he chose Judah as leader, and my father’s family within Judah, and then he picked me out from among my father’s sons and made me king over all Israel.^[e]