Passage
that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains.
2 Samuel 7:2 (DBY)
Nearby Context
2 Samuel 7:1 And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his enemies,
2 Samuel 7:2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains.
2 Samuel 7:3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.
2 Samuel 7:4 And it came to pass that night that the word of Jehovah came to Nathan, saying,
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "king", "said", "nathan", "prophet", "dwell", "house", "cedars", and "dwells". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "king" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And it came to pass when the..." into verse 3's "And Nathan said to the king Go...", so "king" and "said" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "king" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.