Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

Psalm 134

A song of ascents.

²⁹ As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

Ministering Before the Ark^(A)(B)(C)

16 They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched^(D) for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. ² After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed^(E) the people in the name of the Lord. ³ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins^(F) to each Israelite man and woman.

⁴ He appointed some of the Levites to minister^(G) before the ark of the Lord, to extol,^[a] thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel,^[b] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶ and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷ That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise^(H) to the Lord in this manner:

³⁷ David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements.^{(A) 38} He also left Obed-Edom^(B) and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah,^(C) were gatekeepers.

³⁹ David left Zadok^(D) the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon^{(E) 40} to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law^(F) of the Lord, which he had given Israel. ⁴¹ With them were Heman^(G) and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, “for his love endures forever.” ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song.^(H) The sons of Jeduthun^(I) were stationed at the gate.

The Temple Musicians^(A)

³¹ These are the men^(B) David put in charge of the music^(C) in the house of the Lord after the ark came to rest there. ³² They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them.

³³ Here are the men who served, together with their sons:

⁴⁸ Their fellow Levites^(L) were assigned to all the other duties of the tabernacle, the house of God. ⁴⁹ But Aaron and his descendants were the ones who presented offerings on the altar^(M) of burnt offering and on the altar of incense^(N) in connection with all that was done in the Most Holy Place, making atonement for Israel, in accordance with all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked^(A) in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed^(B) me ruler^(C) over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

²³ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

David and Mephibosheth

9 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”^(A)

² Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba.^(B) They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

³ The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan;^(C) he is lame^(D) in both feet.”

⁴ “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir^(E) son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

⁵ So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

⁶ When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.^(F)

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.^(G) I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.^(H)”

⁸ Mephibosheth^(I) bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog^(J) like me?”

⁹ Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. ¹⁰ You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson^(K) may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s^[a] table like one of the king’s sons.^(L)

¹² Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth.^{(M) 13} And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.