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12 Then King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.” So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration.

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Then he commanded, “No one except the Levites may carry the Ark of God. The Lord has chosen them to carry the Ark of the Lord and to serve him forever.”

Then David summoned all Israel to Jerusalem to bring the Ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it. This is the number of the descendants of Aaron (the priests) and the Levites who were called together:

From the clan of Kohath, 120, with Uriel as their leader.

From the clan of Merari, 220, with Asaiah as their leader.

From the clan of Gershon,[a] 130, with Joel as their leader.

From the descendants of Elizaphan, 200, with Shemaiah as their leader.

From the descendants of Hebron, 80, with Eliel as their leader.

10 From the descendants of Uzziel, 112, with Amminadab as their leader.

11 Then David summoned the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, and these Levite leaders: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, “You are the leaders of the Levite families. You must purify yourselves and all your fellow Levites, so you can bring the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. 13 Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly.” 14 So the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to bring the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to Jerusalem. 15 Then the Levites carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with its carrying poles, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

16 David also ordered the Levite leaders to appoint a choir of Levites who were singers and musicians to sing joyful songs to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, and cymbals. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel along with his fellow Levites: Asaph son of Berekiah, and Ethan son of Kushaiah from the clan of Merari. 18 The following men were chosen as their assistants: Zechariah, Jaaziel,[b] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers—Obed-edom and Jeiel.

19 The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were chosen to sound the bronze cymbals. 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were chosen to play the harps.[c] 21 Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were chosen to play the lyres.[d] 22 Kenaniah, the head Levite, was chosen as the choir leader because of his skill.

23 Berekiah and Elkanah were chosen to guard[e] the Ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer—all of whom were priests—were chosen to blow the trumpets as they marched in front of the Ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were chosen to guard the Ark.

Moving the Ark to Jerusalem

25 Then David and the elders of Israel and the generals of the army[f] went to the house of Obed-edom to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant up to Jerusalem with a great celebration. 26 And because God was clearly helping the Levites as they carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

27 David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the Ark, and also the singers, and Kenaniah the choir leader. David was also wearing a priestly garment.[g] 28 So all Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant with shouts of joy, the blowing of rams’ horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on harps and lyres.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:7 Hebrew Gershom, a variant spelling of Gershon.
  2. 15:18 As in several Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version (see also parallel lists in 15:20; 16:5); Masoretic Text reads Zechariah ben Jaaziel.
  3. 15:20 Hebrew adds according to Alamoth, which is probably a musical term. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  4. 15:21 Hebrew adds according to the Sheminith, which is probably a musical term. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  5. 15:23 Hebrew chosen as gatekeepers for; also in 15:24.
  6. 15:25 Hebrew the commanders of thousands.
  7. 15:27 Hebrew a linen ephod.

Psalm 105

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
    Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
    Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
Exult in his holy name;
    rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
    continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
    his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
    you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the Lord our God.
    His justice is seen throughout the land.
He always stands by his covenant—
    the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
This is the covenant he made with Abraham
    and the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
    and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:
11 “I will give you the land of Canaan
    as your special possession.”

12 He said this when they were few in number,
    a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
13 They wandered from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
14 Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
    He warned kings on their behalf:
15 “Do not touch my chosen people,
    and do not hurt my prophets.”

16 He called for a famine on the land of Canaan,
    cutting off its food supply.
17 Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them—
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They bruised his feet with fetters
    and placed his neck in an iron collar.
19 Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,[a]
    the Lord tested Joseph’s character.
20 Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free;
    the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.
21 Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household;
    he became ruler over all the king’s possessions.
22 He could instruct[b] the king’s aides as he pleased
    and teach the king’s advisers.

23 Then Israel arrived in Egypt;
    Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord multiplied the people of Israel
    until they became too mighty for their enemies.
25 Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites,
    and they plotted against the Lord’s servants.

26 But the Lord sent his servant Moses,
    along with Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed miraculous signs among the Egyptians,
    and wonders in the land of Ham.
28 The Lord blanketed Egypt in darkness,
    for they had defied[c] his commands to let his people go.
29 He turned their water into blood,
    poisoning all the fish.
30 Then frogs overran the land
    and even invaded the king’s bedrooms.
31 When the Lord spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians,
    and gnats swarmed across Egypt.
32 He sent them hail instead of rain,
    and lightning flashed over the land.
33 He ruined their grapevines and fig trees
    and shattered all the trees.
34 He spoke, and hordes of locusts came—
    young locusts beyond number.
35 They ate up everything green in the land,
    destroying all the crops in their fields.
36 Then he killed the oldest son in each Egyptian home,
    the pride and joy of each family.

37 The Lord brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold;
    and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they were gone,
    for they feared them greatly.
39 The Lord spread a cloud above them as a covering
    and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.
40 They asked for meat, and he sent them quail;
    he satisfied their hunger with manna—bread from heaven.
41 He split open a rock, and water gushed out
    to form a river through the dry wasteland.
42 For he remembered his sacred promise
    to his servant Abraham.
43 So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy,
    his chosen ones with rejoicing.
44 He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,
    and they harvested crops that others had planted.
45 All this happened so they would follow his decrees
    and obey his instructions.

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. 105:19 Hebrew his word.
  2. 105:22 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads bind or imprison.
  3. 105:28 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads had not defied.

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing to the Lord!
    Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
    Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
For the Lord is a great God,
    a great King above all gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
    and the mightiest mountains.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
    His hands formed the dry land, too.

Come, let us worship and bow down.
    Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
    for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
    the flock under his care.

If only you would listen to his voice today!
The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
    as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
    even though they saw everything I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
    They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in my anger I took an oath:
    ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

Psalm 96

Sing a new song to the Lord!
    Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord; praise his name.
    Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
    Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    He is to be feared above all gods.
The gods of other nations are mere idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens!
Honor and majesty surround him;
    strength and beauty fill his sanctuary.

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
    recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
    Bring your offering and come into his courts.
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
    Let all the earth tremble before him.
10 Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
    The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
    He will judge all peoples fairly.

11 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
    Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
    Let the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he is coming!
    He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
    and the nations with his truth.

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