Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:
Then King David stood up and said, 'Listen to me, my brothers and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and I had prepared everything for the building.'
King David is telling his people that he had deeply desired to build a temple for God and had made all the preparations for it.
📚 Historical Context
This takes place near the end of David's reign when he is passing leadership to his son Solomon. David had long wanted to build a permanent temple to house the ark of the covenant, which contained the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments and represented God's presence among His people. However, God had told David through the prophet Nathan that because he was a man of war, his son Solomon would be the one to build the temple instead.
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