He told them: "You are the leaders of the Levites' families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves and bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel up to the place I have prepared for it.

"Go, tell my servant David: 'This is what the Lord says: "You must not build me a house in which to live.

David said, "My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man, and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for its construction." So David made extensive preparations before he died.

But the Lord said to me: 'You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me.

But God said to me, 'You must not build a temple to honor me, for you are a warrior and have spilled blood.'