The Daily Audio Bible
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The Successful Move of the Ark to Jerusalem
15 David constructed buildings for himself in the City of David. He established a place for the Ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
2 Then David said, “Nobody is to carry God’s ark except the Levites, because the Lord chose them to carry the Ark of the Lord and to serve him forever.” 3 David gathered all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the Ark of the Lord to the place that he had prepared for it.
4 David gathered the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:
5 representing the sons of Kohath were Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives,[a]
6 representing the sons of Merari were Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives,
7 representing the sons of Gershom were Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives,
8 representing the sons of Elizaphan were Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives,
9 representing the sons of Hebron were Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives,
10 representing the sons of Uzziel were Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.
11 So David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, “You are the leading fathers of the descendants of Levi. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers. Bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place prepared for it, 13 because the first time, when you were not there, the Lord our God burst out against us, because we did not inquire about and follow the proper procedures.”
14 The priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 The descendants of Levi carried the Ark of God with poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. 16 David told the leading officials of the Levites to appoint their brother Levites as singers with musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals, to raise their voices for the people to hear with joy.
17 The Levites appointed Heman son of Joel, and from the Levites closely related to him they appointed Asaph son of Berekiah, and from their relatives who were the descendants of Merari they appointed Ethan son of Kushaiah.
18 Their brother Levites assigned to serve with them on the second level were Zechariah,[b] Ja’aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Ma’aseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.[c]
19 Also appointed were the singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, to sound the bronze cymbals,
20 Zechariah, Aziel,[d] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Ma’aseiah, and Benaiah, to play the harps according to alamoth,
21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah with lyres, to lead according to sheminith.[e]
22 Kenaniah was musical leader of the Levites, directing the music because he had the skill.
23 Berekiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the Ark.
24 The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were directed to blow trumpets before the Ark of God.
Obed Edom and Jehiah were also gatekeepers for the Ark.
25 David, the elders of Israel, and the leaders of the units of a thousand were going to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed Edom. They were celebrating as they went, 26 because God was helping the Levites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a fine linen robe, as were all of the Levites who were carrying the ark, the singers, and Kenaniah, the choir director for the singers. David was wearing a special linen vest.[f]
28 All Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sound of the ram’s horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and with music on harps and lyres. 29 When the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came to the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out through the window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.
16 They brought the Ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. They offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings[g] before God. 2 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 He distributed to each and every Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread, a cake of dates,[h] and a cake of raisins.
4 He designated the following individuals from the Levites to serve before the Ark of the Lord by remembering, thanking, and praising the Lord, the God of Israel:
5 Asaph was the leader. Zechariah was directly under him.
Jeiel,[i] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel were to play music on harps and lyres.
Asaph was sounding the cymbals.
6 Benaiah and Jahaziel, the priests with trumpets, were to be continually before the Ark of the Covenant of God.
The Psalm of Thanks[j]
7 On that day David first gave the directive to give thanks to the Lord through the ministry of Asaph and his associates:
8 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his deeds among the peoples.
9 Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his wonderful acts.[k]
10 Praise his holy name.
The hearts of those who seek the Lord will rejoice.
11 Seek the Lord and his strength.
Seek his presence continually.
12 Remember his wonderful acts, his signs,
and the judgments from his mouth,
13 you descendants[l] of Israel, his servant,
you sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the Lord our God.
His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
a word he commanded for a thousand generations,
16 his covenant which he made with Abraham,
which was his sworn promise to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a statute for Israel,
an everlasting covenant.
18 He said, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as a portion for your inheritance,
19 even though your numbers are small,
and you are insignificant,
and you are living in it as aliens.”
20 They were wandering from nation to nation
and from one kingdom to another people.
21 Yet he did not permit anyone to oppress them.
He rebuked kings on their account:
22 “You must not touch my anointed ones.
Against my prophets you must do no harm.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his wonderful acts among all the peoples,
25 for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.
He is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are not gods at all.[m]
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Honor and majesty are before him.
Strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples.
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name.
Bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth.
Surely the world stands firm.
It shall never be overthrown.
31 The heavens will be glad.[n]
The earth will rejoice.
They will say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
32 The sea and everything that fills it will roar.
The fields and everything in them will celebrate.
33 The trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
35 Say, “Save us, O God of our salvation.
Gather us and save us from the nations,
to give thanks to your holy name,
to glorify you by praising you.”
36 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said “Amen” and praised the Lord.
God’s Anger on All Who Reject Him
18 Indeed, God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who try to suppress the truth by unrighteousness. 19 This happens because what can be known about God is evident among them, because God made it evident among them. 20 In fact, his invisible characteristics—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, because they are understood from the things he made. As a result, people are without excuse, 21 because, even though they knew God, they did not honor him or give him thanks as God. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless heart was darkened.
22 Although they claim to be wise, they have become fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human, or like birds, four-footed animals, and crawling things. 24 So, as they followed the sinful desires of their hearts, God handed them over to the impurity of degrading their own bodies among themselves. 25 Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie, worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator, who is worthy of praise forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God handed them over to disgraceful passions. Even their females exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 And, in the same way, their males, after abandoning natural sexual relations with females, were consumed by their lust for one another. Males perform indecent acts with males and receive in themselves the penalty that is fitting for their perversion.
28 And since they did not consider it worthwhile to hold on to the true knowledge of God, God handed them over to a corrupted mind to do things that should never be done. 29 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and malice. They are gossipers, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent mockers, arrogant boasters, and loudmouths. They dream up evil things. They disobey their parents. 31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, and merciless. 32 Even though they know God’s righteous decree that those who do these things are worthy of death, such people not only continue to do them, but also approve of others who continue to commit such sins.
Psalm 10
Break the Arm of the Wicked Man
An Opening Appeal for Action
1 Why, Lord, do you stand so far away?
Why do you hide in times of distress?
A Portrait of the Wicked
2 Because of the pride of the wicked, the oppressed burn.[a]
They are caught in the schemes that the wicked plan.
3 Yes, the wicked man boasts about his heart’s desires.
He blesses the robber. He despises the Lord.[b]
4 With his nose in the air, the wicked does not seek God.
There is no room at all for God in his thoughts.
5 His ways are prosperous all the time.
He is haughty. Your judgments do not concern him.
He snorts at all of his foes.
6 He says in his heart, “I will not be shaken.
Through age after age I will have no trouble.”
7 Cursing fills his mouth, along with lies and threats.
Trouble and evil lie under his tongue.
8 He waits in ambush by the villages.
In hidden places he murders the innocent.
His eyes are spying on the helpless.
9 He lies in ambush. He hides like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in ambush to catch the oppressed.
He catches the oppressed by dragging them in his net.
10 The helpless are crushed. They sink down.
They fall under his strength.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He hides his face. He never sees.”
An Appeal for Divine Justice
12 Rise up, O Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why does the wicked man despise God?
Why does he say in his heart,
“You do not seek justice”?
14 But you do see. You notice trouble and grief.
You take it into your own hands.
The helpless one abandons himself to you.
For the fatherless you are indeed a helper.
15 Break the arm of the wicked.
You pursue the wickedness of the evil man
until you find no more.[c]
6 Many seek the goodwill of a ruler,
and everyone is a friend to a person who gives gifts.
7 A poor person’s brothers all hate him.
Even his friends keep their distance from him!
Though he pursues them with words, they are not there.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.