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Nathan

47After him Nathan rose up
   to prophesy in the days of David.

David

² As the fat is set apart from the offering of well-being,
   so David was set apart from the Israelites.
³ He played with lions as though they were young goats,
   and with bears as though they were lambs of the flock.
⁴ In 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?
⁵ For 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^* of his people.
⁶ So 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.
⁷ For he wiped out his enemies on every side,
   and annihilated his adversaries the Philistines;
   he crushed their power^* to our own day.
⁸ In 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.
⁹ He placed singers before the altar,
   to make sweet melody with their voices.^*
10 He gave beauty to the festivals,
   and arranged their times throughout the year,^*
while they praised God’s^* holy name,
   and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.
¹¹ The Lord took away his sins,
   and exalted his power^* for ever;
he gave him a covenant of kingship
   and a glorious throne in Israel.

Solomon

¹² After him a wise son rose up
   who because of him lived in security:^*
13 Solomon 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 for ever.
¹⁴ How wise you were when you were young!
   You overflowed like the Nile^* with understanding.
¹⁵ Your influence spread throughout the earth,
   and you filled it with proverbs having deep meaning.
¹⁶ Your fame reached to far-off islands,
   and you were loved for your peaceful reign.
¹⁷ Your songs, proverbs, and parables,
   and the answers you gave astounded the nations.
¹⁸ In the name of the Lord God,
   who is called the God of Israel,
you gathered gold like tin
   and amassed silver like lead.
¹⁹ But you brought in women to lie at your side,
   and through your body you were brought into subjection.
²⁰ You stained your honour
   and defiled your family line,
so that you brought wrath upon your children,
   and they were grieved^* at your folly,
²¹ because the sovereignty was divided
   and a rebel kingdom arose out of Ephraim.
²² But 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.

Rehoboam and Jeroboam

²³ Solomon rested with his ancestors,
   and left behind him one of his sons,
broad in^* 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.
²⁴ Their sins increased more and more,
   until they were exiled from their land.
²⁵ For they sought out every kind of wickedness,
   until vengeance came upon them.