⁸ “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. ⁹ I 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! ¹⁰ And 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, ¹¹ starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! ¹² For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. ¹⁵ But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will continue before me^[b] for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”

²⁰ “What more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like, Sovereign Lord. ²¹ Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant.

²² “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! ²³ What 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 and gods that stood in their way.^{[d] 24} You made Israel your very own people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.

²⁵ “And now, O Lord God, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever. ²⁶ And may your name be honored forever so that everyone will say, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over Israel!’ And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever.

²⁷ “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, God of Israel, I have been bold enough to pray this prayer to you because you have revealed all this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings!’ ²⁸ For you are God, O Sovereign Lord. Your words are truth, and you have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁹ And now, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you have spoken, and when you grant a blessing to your servant, O Sovereign Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”

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. ⁸ I 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! ⁹ And 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, ¹⁰ starting 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! ¹¹ For 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. ¹² He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for me. And I will secure his throne forever. ¹³ I 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. ¹⁴ I will confirm him as king over my house and my kingdom for all time, and his throne will be secure forever.’”

¹⁸ “What more can I say to you about the way you have honored me? You know what your servant is really like. ¹⁹ For the sake of your servant, O Lord, and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known.

²⁰ “O Lord, there is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! ²¹ What 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. ²² You chose Israel to be your very own people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.

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. ²⁴ And 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.

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! ²⁶ For you are God, O Lord. And you have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁷ And 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!”