Factum est autem cum sedisset rex in domo sua, et Dominus dedisset ei requiem undique ab universis inimicis suis,

And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,

The king had now a palace of his own to dwell in, and the Lord kept him safe, on every side, from all his enemies.

dixit ad Nathan prophetam: Videsne quod ego habitem in domo cedrina, et arca Dei posita sit in medio pellium?

He said to Nathan the prophet: Dost thou see that I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God is lodged within skins?

Whereupon he said to the prophet Nathan, Here am I dwelling in a house all of cedar, while God’s ark has nothing better than curtains of hide about it!

Dixitque Nathan ad regem: Omne quod est in corde tuo, vade, fac: quia Dominus tecum est.

And Nathan said to the king: Go, do all that is in they heart: because the Lord is with thee.

And Nathan answered, Go thy own way, fulfil thy own purpose; the Lord is with thee.

Factum est autem in illa nocte: et ecce sermo Domini ad Nathan, dicens:

But it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

But that same night the divine word came to Nathan,

Vade, et loquere ad servum meum David: Hæc dicit Dominus: Numquid tu ædificabis mihi domum ad habitandum?

Go, and say to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord: Shalt thou build me a house to dwell in?

Go and give my servant David a message from the Lord: Dost thou think to build a house for me to dwell in?

Neque enim habitavi in domo ex die illa, qua eduxi filios Israël de terra Ægypti, usque in diem hanc: sed ambulabam in tabernaculo, et in tentorio.

Whereas I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt even to this day: but have walked in a tabernacle, and in a tent.

House was never mine, since I rescued the sons of Israel from Egypt; still in a tabernacle, a wanderer’s home, I came and went.

Per cuncta loca quæ transivi cum omnibus filiis Israël, numquid loquens locutus sum ad unam de tribubus Israël, cui præcepi ut pasceret populum meum Israël, dicens: Quare non ædificastis mihi domum cedrinam?

In all the places that I have gone through with all the children of Israel, did ever I speak a word to any one of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

This way and that the whole race of Israel journeyed, and I with them; now to this tribe, now to that, I gave the leadership of the rest, and never did I reproach any of them for not building me a house of cedar.

Et nunc hæc dices servo meo David: Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: Ego tuli te de pascuis sequentem greges, ut esses dux super populum meum Israël:

And now thus shalt thou speak to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I took thee out of the pastures from following the sheep to be ruler over my people Israel:

This message, then, thou wilt give to my servant David from the Lord of hosts: Out in the pasture-lands, where thou wast tending the sheep, I summoned thee away to bear rule over my people Israel;

et fui tecum in omnibus ubicumque ambulasti, et interfeci universos inimicos tuos a facie tua: fecique tibi nomen grande, juxta nomen magnorum qui sunt in terra.

And I have been with thee wheresoever thou hast walked, and have slain all thy enemies from before thy face: and I have made thee a great man, like unto the name of the great ones that are on the earth.

go where thou wouldst, I was ever at thy side, exterminating thy enemies to make room for thee, granting thee such renown as only comes to the greatest on earth.

Et ponam locum populo meo Israël, et plantabo eum, et habitabit sub eo, et non turbabitur amplius: nec addent filii iniquitatis ut affligant eum sicut prius,

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, and they shall dwell therein, and shall be disturbed no more: neither shall the children of iniquity afflict them any more as they did before,

Henceforth my people are to have a settled home, taking root in it and remaining in undisturbed possession of it, no longer harassed by godless neighbours,

ex die qua constitui judices super populum meum Israël: et requiem dabo tibi ab omnibus inimicis tuis: prædicitque tibi Dominus quod domum faciat tibi Dominus.

From the day that I appointed judges over my people Israel: and I will give thee rest from all thy enemies. And the Lord foretelleth to thee, that the Lord will make thee a house.

as they have been ever since I first gave Israel judges to rule them. No longer shall thy enemies trouble thee; and this too the Lord promises, that he will grant thy line continuance.

Cumque completi fuerint dies tui, et dormieris cum patribus tuis, suscitabo semen tuum post te, quod egredietur de utero tuo, et firmabo regnum ejus.

And when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

So, when thy days are ended, and thou art laid to rest beside thy fathers, I will grant thee for successor a son of thy own body, established firmly on his throne.

Ipse ædificabit domum nomini meo, et stabiliam thronum regni ejus usque in sempiternum.

He shall build a house to my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom fore ever.

He it is that shall build a house to do my name honour. I will prolong for ever his royal dynasty;

Ego ero ei in patrem, et ipse erit mihi in filium: qui si inique aliquid gesserit, arguam eum in virga virorum, et in plagis filiorum hominum.

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son: and if he commit any iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men.

he shall find in me a father, and I in him a son. If he plays me false, be sure I will punish him; ever for man the rod, ever for Adam’s sons the plagues of mortality;

Misericordiam autem meam non auferam ab eo, sicut abstuli a Saul, quem amovi a facie mea.

But my mercy I will not take away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before my face.

but I will not cancel my merciful promise to him, as I cancelled my promise to Saul, the king that was banished from my favour.

Et fidelis erit domus tua, et regnum tuum usque in æternum ante faciem tuam, et thronus tuus erit firmus jugiter.

And thy house shall be faithful, and thy kingdom for ever before thy face, and thy throne shall be firm for ever.

Through the ages, far as thy thought can reach, dynasty and royalty both shall endure; thy throne shall remain for ever unshaken.

Secundum omnia verba hæc, et juxta universam visionem istam, sic locutus est Nathan ad David.

According to all these words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.

All this message, all this revelation, was handed on by Nathan to king David.

Ingressus est autem rex David, et sedit coram Domino, et dixit: Quis ego sum, Domine Deus, et quæ domus mea, quia adduxisti me hucusque?

And David went in, and sat before the Lord, and said: Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?

And David went into the Lord’s presence, and betook himself to prayer; Lord God, he said, that one such as I am, sprung from such a house as mine, should have been brought by thee to such power!

Sed et hoc parum visum est in conspectu tuo, Domine Deus, nisi loquereris etiam de domo servi tui in longinquum: ista est enim lex Adam, Domine Deus.

But yet this hath seemed little in thy sight, O Lord God, unless thou didst also speak of the house of thy servant for a long time to come: for this is the law of Adam, O Lord God.

But it was not enough, Lord God, thou wouldst do more; thou wouldst foretell the destiny of thy servant’s line in days far hence; Lord God, can mortal man claim such rights?

Quid ergo addere poterit adhuc David, ut loquatur ad te? tu enim scis servum tuum, Domine Deus.

And what can David say more unto thee? for thou knowest thy servant, O Lord God:

No words can thy servant David find; such divine mercy thou showest him.

Propter verbum tuum, et secundum cor tuum, fecisti omnia magnalia hæc, ita ut notum faceres servo tuo.

For thy word’s sake, and according to thy own heart thou hast done all these great things, so that thou wouldst make it known to thy servant.

In fulfilment of thy promise, in pursuance of thy will, thou dost bring about all these marvels which thou hast made known to thy servant.

Idcirco magnificatus es, Domine Deus, quia non est similis tui, neque est deus extra te, in omnibus quæ audivimus auribus nostris.

Therefore thou art magnified, O Lord God, because there is none like to thee, neither is there any God besides thee, in all the things that we have heard with our ears.

So great thou art, Lord God! None is like thee, thou alone art God, read we the history of past days aright.

Quæ est autem ut populus tuus Israël gens in terra, propter quam ivit Deus ut redimeret eam sibi in populum, et poneret sibi nomen, faceretque eis magnalia et horribilia super terram a facie populi tui quem redemisti tibi ex Ægypto, gentem, et deum ejus.

And what nation is there upon earth, as thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for them great and terrible things, upon the earth, before the face of thy people, whom thou redeemedst to thyself out of Egypt, from the nations and their gods.

Can any other nation say, like thy people Israel, that its God came to buy it back for himself as his own people, winning such renown for himself, doing such deeds of wonder and dread against any country, and its people, and its god, as thou didst when thou didst buy back thy people from Egypt?

Firmasti enim tibi populum tuum Israël in populum sempiternum: et tu, Domine Deus, factus es eis in Deum.

For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be an everlasting people: and thou, O Lord God, art become their God.

So didst thou pledge this people of Israel to be thy people eternally, and thou, Lord God, didst become their God.

Nunc ergo Domine Deus, verbum quod locutus es super servum tuum, et super domum ejus, suscita in sempiternum: et fac sicut locutus es,

And now, O Lord God, raise up for ever the word that thou hast spoken, concerning thy servant and concerning his house: and do as thou hast spoken,

This promise, then, Lord God, which thou hast made concerning thy servant and his line, do thou for ever fulfil; make thy word good,

ut magnificetur nomen tuum usque in sempiternum, atque dicatur: Dominus exercituum, Deus super Israël. Et domus servi tui David erit stabilita coram Domino,

That thy name may be magnified for ever, and it may be said: The Lord of hosts is God over Israel. And the house of thy servant David shall be established before the Lord.

that so thy name may be for ever glorified, the Lord of hosts that is God of Israel; under thy divine care may the dynasty of thy servant David remain unshaken.

quia tu, Domine exercituum Deus Israël, revelasti aurem servi tui, dicens: Domum ædificabo tibi: propterea invenit servus tuus cor suum ut oraret te oratione hac.

Because thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to the ear of thy servant, saying: I will build thee a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee.

Lord of hosts, God of Israel, thou hast given me secret knowledge of thy will, promised me a long posterity; what wonder that thy servant finds his heart full of such prayers as these?

Nunc ergo Domine Deus, tu es Deus, et verba tua erunt vera: locutus es enim ad servum tuum bona hæc.

And now, O Lord God, thou art God, and thy words shall be true: for thou hast spoken to thy servant these good things.

So be it, Lord God; thou art God, and thy word is ever faithful; since blessing thou hast promised to thy servant,

Incipe ergo, et benedic domui servi tui, ut sit in sempiternum coram te: quia tu, Domine Deus, locutus es, et benedictione tua benedicetur domus servi tui in sempiternum.

And now begin, and bless the house of thy servant, that it may endure for ever before thee: because thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it, and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

blessing on his line bestow, and keep it always under thy protection. Thou, Lord God, hast spoken, and through this blessing of thine my race shall be blessed for ever.