And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;

And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his enemies,

Now when the king was living in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from war on every side;

Now it happened that, when the king had settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,

There is no indication how soon after the bringing up of the ark these things occurred, but it was probably at no long interval.

When the king sat in his house - That is, when he became resident in the palace which Hiram, king of Tyre, had built for him.
And the Lord had given him rest - This was after he had defeated the Philistines, and cast them out of all the strong places in Israel which they had possessed after the overthrow of Saul; but before he had carried his arms beyond the land of Israel, against the Moabites, Syrians, and Idumeans. See 2-Samuel 8:1-14.

And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house,.... Which Hiram's servants had built for him, having no occasion to go out to war:
and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; both at home and abroad; though this rest and peace did not last long; for the next chapter gives an account of each of the people he was engaged in war with, 2-Samuel 8:1.

David being at rest in his palace, considered how he might best employ his leisure and prosperity in the service of God. He formed a design to build a temple for the ark. Nathan here did not speak as a prophet, but as a godly man, encouraging David by his private judgment. We ought to do all we can to encourage and promote the good purposes and designs of others, and, as we have opportunity, to forward a good work.

Sat - That is, was settled in the house which Hiram's men had built for him, then he reflected upon the unsettled state of the ark.