That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.

Woe unto them that join house to house, {that} lay field to field, till {there be} no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! {they: Heb. ye}

{Is it} time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house {lie} waste?

The beams of our house {are} cedar, {and} our rafters of fir. {rafters: or, galleries}

And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.

He loveth transgression that loveth strife: {and} he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.

The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

And all the people shall know, {even} Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have {sufficient} to finish {it}?

Lest {when} thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt {therein};

O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

And {that} she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,

And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; {their} voice shall sing in the windows; desolation {shall be} in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. {cormorant: or, pelican} {upper...: or, knops, or, chapiters} {for...: or, when he hath uncovered}

Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning {of the wall}, and the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, that {was} by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.

I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all {they} that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. {had...: Heb. had seen much}

Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and {there was a fire} on the hearth burning before him.

And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great {men}, burned he with fire:

And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house. {masons: Heb. hewers of the stone of the wall}

And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.