| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Now 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. | 1When David was settled in his palace, he summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant is out there under a tent!” |
| 2Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. | 2Nathan replied to David, “Do whatever you have in mind, for God is with you.” |
| 3And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, | 3But that same night God said to Nathan, |
| 4Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: | 4“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD has declared: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in. |
| 5For 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. | 5I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. My home has always been a tent, moving from one place to another in a Tabernacle. |
| 6Wheresoever 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? | 6Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s leaders, the shepherds of my people. I have never asked them, “Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’ |
| 7Now 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: | 7“Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. |
| 8And 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. | 8I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! |
| 9Also 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, | 9And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, |
| 10And 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. | 10starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will defeat all your enemies. “‘Furthermore, I declare that the LORD will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings! |
| 11And 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. | 11For when you die and join your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, one of your sons, and I will make his kingdom strong. |
| 12He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. | 12He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for me. And I will secure his throne forever. |
| 13I 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: | 13I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my favor from him as I took it from the one who ruled before you. |
| 14But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. | 14I will confirm him as king over my house and my kingdom for all time, and his throne will be secure forever.’” |
| 15According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. | 15So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the LORD had said in this vision. David’s Prayer of Thanks |
| 16And 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? | 16Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? |
| 17And 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. | 17And now, O God, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! You speak as though I were someone very great, O LORD God! |
| 18What can David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant. | 18“What more can I say to you about the way you have honored me? You know what your servant is really like. |
| 19O 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. | 19For the sake of your servant, O LORD, and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known. |
| 20O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. | 20“O LORD, there is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! |
| 21And 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? | 21What other nation on earth is like your people Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own people? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations that stood in their way. |
| 22For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God. | 22You chose Israel to be your very own people forever, and you, O LORD, became their God. |
| 23Therefore 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. | 23“And now, O LORD, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. May it be a promise that will last forever. |
| 24Let 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. | 24And may your name be established and honored forever so that everyone will say, ‘The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever. |
| 25For 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. | 25“O my God, I have been bold enough to pray to you because you have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him—a dynasty of kings! |
| 26And now, LORD, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: | 26For you are God, O LORD. And you have promised these good things to your servant. |
| 27Now 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. | 27And now, it has pleased you to bless the house of your servant, so that it will continue forever before you. For when you grant a blessing, O LORD, it is an eternal blessing!” |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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