4th Sunday of Advent, Year B: 1st Reading

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

When King David was settled in his palace,
   and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
   he said to Nathan the prophet,
   “Here I am living in a house of cedar,
   while the ark of God dwells in a tent!”
Nathan answered the king,
   “Go, do whatever you have in mind,
   for the LORD is with you.”
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
   “Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
   Should you build me a house to dwell in?’

“‘It was I who took you from the pasture
   and from the care of the flock
   to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
   and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
   I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
   without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
   since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
   that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
   I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
   and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
   and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
   your throne shall stand firm forever.'”