The Lord said that he would dwell in total darkness.^(A)
13 I have indeed built an exalted temple^(B) for you,
a place for your dwelling forever.^(C)

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise^(E) by his power.
He said,
¹⁶ “Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,^(F)
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name^(G) would be there.
But I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.”^(H)
17 My father David had his heart set
on building a temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.^(I)
18 But the Lord said to my father David,
“Since your heart was set on building a temple for my name,
you have done well to have this desire.^[a](J)
19 Yet you are not the one to build it;
instead, your son, your own offspring,
will build it for my name.”^(K)
20 The Lord has fulfilled what he promised.
I have taken the place of my father David,^(L)
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised.^(M)
I have built the temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
²¹ I have provided a place there for the ark,
where the Lord’s covenant is
that he made with our ancestors
when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.^(N)