Chronological
David Wants to Build a Temple
7 King David was living in his palace. And the Lord gave him peace from all his enemies around him. 2 David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace made of cedar wood. But the Ark of the Covenant of God is still kept in a tent!”
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go and do what you really want to do. The Lord is with you.”
4 But that night the Lord spoke his word to Nathan. The Lord said, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: You are not the person to build a house for me to live in. 6 I did not live in a house when I brought the Israelites out of Egypt. I have been moving around all this time with a tent as my home. 7 I have continued to move with the tribes of Israel. But I have never asked their leaders who take care of them to build me a house of cedar wood.’
8 “You must tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: I took you from the pasture when you were following the sheep. I took you to become leader of my people, the Israelites. 9 I have been with you everywhere you have gone. I have defeated your enemies for you. I will make you as famous as any of the great men on the earth. 10 Also I will choose a place for my people, the Israelites. I will plant them so they can live in their own home. They will not be bothered anymore. Wicked people will no longer make them suffer as they have in the past. 11 Wicked people continued to do this even when I appointed judges. But I will give you peace from all your enemies. I also tell you that I will make your descendants kings of Israel after you.
12 “‘Your days will come to an end, and you will die. At that time I will make one of your sons the next king. 13 He will build a temple for me. I will make his kingdom strong forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he sins, I will use other people to punish him. They will be my whips. 15 But I will not stop loving him. I took away my love and kindness from Saul. I removed Saul when I turned to you. 16 But your family and your kingdom will continue forever before me. Your rule will last forever.’”
17 Nathan told David everything he had heard.
David Prays to God
18 Then King David went in the tent and sat in front of the Lord. David said, “Lord God, why have you made me so important to you? Why have you made my family important? 19 But that was not enough for you, Lord God. You have also said these kind things about my future family. I am your servant. Lord God, this is not the usual way you talk to people.
20 “What more can I say to you? Lord God, you love me, your servant, so much! 21 You have done this wonderful thing because you said you would. You have done it because you wanted to. And you have decided to let me know all these great things. 22 This is why you are great, Lord God! There is no one like you. There is no God except you. We have heard all this ourselves! 23 And there are no others like your people, the Israelites. They are the one nation on earth that God chose to be his people. You used them to make your name well-known. You did great and wonderful miracles for them. You went ahead of them and forced other nations and their gods out of the land. You freed your people from slavery in Egypt. 24 You made the people of Israel your very own people forever. And, Lord, you became their God.
25 “Now, Lord God, keep the promise you made about my family and me, your servant. Do what you have promised. 26 Then you will be honored forever. And people will say, ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies is God over Israel!’ And the family of your servant David will continue before you.
27 “Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, you have shown things to me. You have said, ‘I will make your family great.’ So I, your servant, am brave enough to pray to you. 28 Lord God, you are God, and your words are true. And you have promised these good things to me, your servant. 29 Please, bless my family. Let it continue before you forever. Lord God, you have said these wonderful things. With your blessing let my family be blessed forever.”
God’s Promise to David
17 David moved into his palace. Then he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace made of cedar. But the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord sits in a tent.”
2 Nathan answered David, “Do what you want to do. God is with you.”
3 But that night God spoke his word to Nathan. God said, 4 “Go and tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: David, you are not the person to build a house for me to live in. 5 From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until now I have not lived in a house. I have moved from one tent site to another. I have gone from one place to another. 6 I have moved with the Israelites to different places. I commanded leaders to take care of my people. I never said to any of those leaders, “Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?”’
7 “Now, tell my servant David: ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies says: I took you from the pasture and from tending the sheep. I made you king of my people Israel. 8 I have been with you everywhere you have gone. I have killed your enemies for you. Now I will make you one of the most famous men on earth. 9 I will give this place to my people Israel. I will settle them here. Then they will have a home of their own. They won’t be bothered anymore. Evil people won’t hurt them as they have done since the first. 10 Evil people have hurt them since I chose leaders for my people Israel. I will also defeat all your enemies.
“‘I tell you that the Lord will make your descendants kings of Israel after you. 11 When you die and join your ancestors, I will let your child be the new king. He will be one of your own sons. And I will make his kingdom strong. 12 He will build a house for me. And I will let his family rule forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. I took away my love from Saul, who ruled before you. But I will never stop loving your son. 14 I will put him in charge of my house and kingdom forever. His family will rule forever.’”
15 Nathan told David everything God had said in this vision.
David’s Prayer
16 Then King David went in and sat in front of the Lord. David said, “Lord God, why have you made me so important to you? Why have you made my family important? 17 But that was not enough for you, God. You have also said these kind things about my future family. I am your servant. Lord God, you have treated me like a very important man.
18 “What more can I say to you? You have done so much for me, your servant. You love me so much. 19 Lord, you have done this wonderful thing for me for my sake. And you have done it because you wanted to. You have let me know all these great promises.
20 “There is no one like you, Lord. There is no God except you. We have heard all this ourselves. 21 There is no one like your people, the Israelites. It is the one nation on earth that God chose to be his people. You used them to make your name well-known. You did great and wonderful things for them. You went ahead of them and forced other nations out of the land. You freed your people from slavery in Egypt. 22 You made the people of Israel your very own people forever. And, Lord, you became their God.
23 “Lord, you made this promise about my family and me, your servant. Now, keep your promise forever. Do what you have promised. 24 Then people will know you and honor you forever. And people will say, ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the family of your servant David will continue before you.
25 “My God, you have told me that you would make my family great. So I, your servant, am brave enough to pray to you. 26 Lord, you are God. You have promised these good things to me, your servant. 27 You have chosen to bless my family. Let it continue before you forever. Lord, you have blessed my family. So it will be blessed forever.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.