No one can really build a house to put our God in. The whole sky and the highest heaven cannot contain our God, so I cannot build a temple to put him in. I can only build a place to burn incense to honor him.
This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is where I rest my feet. So do you think you can build a house for me? Do I need a place to rest?
David said to them, “You are the leaders from the tribe of Levi. You and the other Levites must make yourselves holy. Then bring the Holy Box of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have made for it.
“But, God, will you really live here with us on the earth? The whole sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you. Certainly this Temple that I built cannot contain you either.
David put up a tent for the Holy Box. The Israelites put the Lord’s Holy Box in its place under the tent. Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.
King David stood up and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. In my heart I wanted to build a place to keep the Box of the Lord’s Agreement. I wanted to build a place that would be God’s footstool. And I made the plans for building that house for God.