1After him Nathan rose up
    to prophesy in the days of David.

2As the fat is set apart from the offering of well-being,
    so David was set apart from the Israelites.
3He played with lions as though they were young goats,
    and with bears as though they were lambs of the flock.
4In his youth did he not kill a giant,
    and take away the people’s disgrace,
when he whirled the stone in the sling
    and struck down the boasting Goliath?
5For he called on the Lord, the Most High,
    and he gave strength to his right arm
to strike down a mighty warrior,
    and to exalt the power[a] of his people.
6So they glorified him for the tens of thousands he conquered,
    and praised him for the blessings bestowed by the Lord,
    when the glorious diadem was given to him.
7For he wiped out his enemies on every side,
    and annihilated his adversaries the Philistines;
    he crushed their power[b] to our own day.
8In all that he did he gave thanks
    to the Holy One, the Most High, proclaiming his glory;
he sang praise with all his heart,
    and he loved his Maker.
9He placed singers before the altar,
    to make sweet melody with their voices.[c]
10He gave beauty to the festivals,
    and arranged their times throughout the year,[d]
while they praised God’s[e] holy name,
    and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.
11The Lord took away his sins,
    and exalted his power[f] forever;
he gave him a covenant of kingship
    and a glorious throne in Israel.

12After him a wise son rose up
    who because of him lived in security:[g]
13Solomon reigned in an age of peace,
    because God made all his borders tranquil,
so that he might build a house in his name
    and provide a sanctuary to stand forever.
14How wise you were when you were young!
    You overflowed like the Nile[h] with understanding.
15Your influence spread throughout the earth,
    and you filled it with proverbs having deep meaning.
16Your fame reached to far-off islands,
    and you were loved for your peaceful reign.
17Your songs, proverbs, and parables,
    and the answers you gave astounded the nations.
18In the name of the Lord God,
    who is called the God of Israel,
you gathered gold like tin
    and amassed silver like lead.
19But you brought in women to lie at your side,
    and through your body you were brought into subjection.
20You stained your honor,
    and defiled your family line,
so that you brought wrath upon your children,
    and they were grieved[i] at your folly,
21because the sovereignty was divided
    and a rebel kingdom arose out of Ephraim.
22But the Lord will never give up his mercy,
    or cause any of his works to perish;
he will never blot out the descendants of his chosen one,
    or destroy the family line of him who loved him.
So he gave a remnant to Jacob,
    and to David a root from his own family.

23Solomon rested with his ancestors,
    and left behind him one of his sons,
broad in[j] folly and lacking in sense,
    Rehoboam, whose policy drove the people to revolt.
Then Jeroboam son of Nebat led Israel into sin
    and started Ephraim on its sinful ways.
24Their sins increased more and more,
    until they were exiled from their land.
25For they sought out every kind of wickedness,
    until vengeance came upon them.