Old/New Testament
16 The Levites set the covenant chest of God down in the middle of the tent David had built for it, and they made sacrifices and burnt offerings before God. 2 When David finished these rituals of burnt offerings and peace offerings he blessed the people under the Eternal’s authority. 3 He gave a loaf of bread, a date roll,[a] and a raisin cake to every man and woman in Israel. 4 He appointed some of the Levites as servants of the covenant chest of the Eternal, as officers to commemorate, to give thanks, and to give praise to the Eternal One, God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the head of the servants, next Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-edom. Jeiel was over all instruments, including a ten-stringed harp and lyre, while Asaph played the cymbals. 6 Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests played trumpets regularly before the covenant chest of God. 7 That day, at the end of the parade, David gave this first song of thanks to Asaph and his brothers:
8 Give thanks to the Eternal, and call out to Him.
Teach the people His deeds.
9 Sing to Him! Sing praises to Him!
Talk about all His wonders.
10 Brag about His holy name;
let your heart rejoice in following the Eternal.
11 Always follow the Eternal,
His strength and His face.
12 Remember the wonders which He did,
and the judgments which He spoke.
13 Seed of Israel, you are His servants;
sons of Jacob, you are His chosen.
14 He is the Eternal One, your God.
His judgments fill the earth.
15 Always remember His covenant,
the word He commanded to 1,000 generations
16 Which is His covenant with Abraham
and His pledge to Isaac,
17 His statute with Jacob
and His covenant with Israel forever:
18 “I will give the land of Canaan to you,
a territory as your inheritance.”
19 When He promised this, you were a diminished few,
mere strangers in the land.
20 You went from nation to nation
and from one kingdom to another,
21 But He did not let those nations oppress you.
He reproved the kings:
22 “Do not strike My anointed people
or do evil to My prophets.”
23 Now, sing to the Eternal, all the earth!
Announce the good news of His salvation each and every day!
24 Enlighten the nations to His splendor;
describe His wondrous acts to all people!
25 For the Eternal is great indeed and praiseworthy,
feared and reverenced above all gods.
26 For all gods are worthless idols,
but the Eternal plotted the vast heavens.
27 Honor and majesty precede Him;
strength and beauty infuse His holy sanctuary.
28 Give all credit to the Eternal, families of the world!
Credit Him with honor and strength!
29 Credit Him with the glory worthy of His magnificent name;
gather your sacrifice, and present it before Him.
Bow down to the Eternal, adorned in holiness.
30 Fear Him, all the earth.
For the earth is firmly rooted; it cannot move.
31 Heavens, be glad; earth, rejoice.
Say to the nations, “The Eternal One reigns.”
32 The sea roars, as do its creatures.
The field rejoices, as do its crops.
33 Then will the forest and its trees cry out
before the Eternal, for He comes to judge the earth.
34 Give testimony about the Eternal because He is good;
His loyal love lasts forever.
35 Say, “Save us, God of our salvation.
Gather us and free us from the nations
To thank Your holy name,
to boast in Your praise.”
36 Blessed is the Eternal One, God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
People: So may it be! We will praise the Eternal.
37 So David left Asaph and his brothers at the covenant chest of the Eternal to serve it continually, performing the daily rituals. 38 Obed-edom and the 68 brothers served, with Obed-edom (son of Jeduthun) and Hosah as the gatekeepers.
39 Zadok (the priest) and his fellow priests lived before the congregation tent of the Eternal in the high place at Gibeon 40 to burn offerings continually to Him upon the altar in the morning and evening, as God had commanded Israel. 41-42 With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those who are chosen and recorded here who gave testimony about the Eternal, whose loyal love never ends, using clarions, cymbals, other instruments, and songs. The sons of Jeduthun were assigned to be gatekeepers at Gibeon. 43 Once the congregation tent was prepared, all the people returned to their homes, and David returned to bless his own house.
After David moves the covenant chest to Jerusalem, Israel has two places of worship and two high priests. One is with the chest in Jerusalem, and the other is at the congregation tent in Gibeon. Although David intends to build a temple in Jerusalem and reunite the covenant chest and the congregation tent, that one worship center will not be built until his son, Solomon, is king.
17 Once David had sat in his palace, he made an observation.
David (to Nathan the prophet): I live in a sturdy house made of expensive, imported cedar, but the covenant chest of the Eternal lives in a temporary house made of curtains. This does not seem right.
Nathan: 2 If you want to build God a house, then do it. God is with you.
3 Later that night, God came to Nathan and corrected his thinking.
Eternal One: 4 Go and tell My servant David the Eternal One says: You may not build a house for Me to live in; 5 I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought Israel out of Egypt until today. I have always moved from tent to tent, from one home to another. 6 In all these places where I have walked with Israel, did I ever ask any of the judges I commanded to shepherd Israel, “Why have you not built for Me an expensive house of cedar?”
7 I, the Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, pledge this: I moved you from the pasture, where you followed behind sheep, to the palace, where you now lead My sheep, Israel. 8 I have accompanied you wherever you have gone and have destroyed your enemies from before you. I will exalt your name to the level of the great ones who are on the earth. 9 I will select a land for My people Israel; I will plant them so they may live in their own land and not be moved again. The wicked will not exhaust them anymore, as they did from the beginning 10 and as when I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. I will humble all your enemies. I, the Eternal One, will build a house for you, instead of you building a house for Me. 11-12 At the end of your life, when your reign on earth is complete and you have joined your ancestors, I shall select one of your sons in your place, and I shall build his house. In return, he will build a house for Me, a temple where I shall dwell and where your people will worship Me. And I will establish his throne forever. 13 I shall be his Father, and he will be My son. I shall not take My loyal love from him as I took it from Saul who reigned before you. 14 I shall establish him in My temple and in My kingdom forever. His throne will last forever.
God is clever! David comes to Him, asking to build Him a house, but God turns it around on the king. God uses the opportunity to talk about something more important than a house with four walls; instead, He wants to talk about David’s house—David’s monarchy. This promise gives the Jews the inspiration they need as they rebuild the temple. Certainly buildings are fleeting, for even Solomon’s glorious temple that David draws the plans for is destroyed. But God’s promise remains. David’s descendants continue to lead His people, just as He has led the Jews back from Babylon.
15 Nathan told David exactly what the Eternal said through this vision. 16 Then King David sat before the Eternal.
David: Why have You, Eternal God, brought someone as lowly as me and my family to such a prominent place? 17 This promise was a small thing to You, O God; but it ensures the stability of my house for a long time and reveals to me future generations while regarding me as a man of importance, and their importance to You, Eternal God. 18 How else can I thank you? For You have honored Your servant, and you have come to know Your servant. 19 Eternal, for my sake and according to Your desire, You have orchestrated all this greatness and revealed all these great things. 20 Eternal, there is none like You; for all we have heard no other god exists who has revealed such things. 21 No other nation on the earth is like Your people Israel. You redeemed us to be Your people, to make Your name great by Your powerful deeds—driving out nations from before us, whom You redeemed out of Egypt. 22 You made us Your own people forever; and You, Eternal One, became our God forever. 23 Eternal, may Your promise last forever, and may You do as You have spoken over your servant and his house. 24 May Your name be established and magnified forever: “The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, God of Israel, is Israel’s God; and the house of Your servant David is established before You.” 25 You, my God, have revealed Your intention to establish my kingdom; therefore, I have the courage to pray before You. 26 Now, Eternal, You are God and have promised this good thing to Your servant. 27 You are pleased to bless the house of Your servant; may Your pleasure continue forever. For You, Eternal, have blessed and will bless forever.
18 After God blessed David’s monarchy, King David conquered the Philistines—defeating them and seizing their capital city of Gath and its towns.
2 He defeated the Moabites, who were his relatives through his ancestor Ruth, and the Moabites served David and brought him tribute.
3 He defeated Hadadezer (king of Zobah) as far as Hamath in Aram, extending the borders of Israel to the Euphrates River. 4 From Hadadezer David seized 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. He cut the leg muscles of all the chariot horses, reserving only 100 for future use with the chariots. 5 When the armies of Damascus in Aram came to help their kinsman Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 Arameans. 6 Then David built garrisons in Damascus, and the Arameans served him and brought him tribute. The Eternal helped David, ensuring his victory, wherever he went. 7 David seized the golden shields from the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 He seized large quantities of bronze from Hadadezer’s cities of Tibhath and Cun (which Solomon later used to cast the bronze basin, pillars, and utensils for the temple). 9 When Tou (king of Hamath in Aram) heard that David had defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 he was overjoyed since he had been fighting with Hadadezer himself. Tou sent his son, Hadoram, to King David to greet him and to bless him with gold, silver, and bronze, for David had fought Hadadezer and had won the victory. 11 King David then dedicated these gifts to the Eternal along with the silver and gold he had seized from these nations: Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.
These weren’t just any surrounding nations; these nations each have long histories as adversaries of Israel. Edom, descended from Jacob’s older brother Esau, lost any chance of being God’s chosen people when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for stew. Moab and Ammon were formed by the descendants of an incestuous relationship between Abraham’s nephew Lot and Lot’s daughters. The Philistines, although not related to the Israelites, were frequent enemies whose military prowess threatened Israelite tribes on many occasions. And the Amalekites, also descended from Esau, were almost constant enemies of the Israelites, employing ruthless tactics in their war mongering. By subduing these nations, David not only secures the safety of Israel, but he reaffirms God’s selection of Israel as His people over all the other nations in the land.
12 One of David’s chiefs, Abishai (son of Zeruiah), defeated 18,000 Edomites in the valley of Salt. 13 He built garrisons in Edom, and all the people of that nation served David. The Eternal helped David wherever he went.
14 David was a just and righteous ruler over all Israel—over his people and the lands he conquered. 15 Joab (son of Zeruiah) led the army; Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud) was the recorder; 16 Zadok (son of Ahitub) and Abimelech (son of Abiathar) were priests; Shavsha was secretary; 17 Benaiah (son of Jehoiada) governed the Cherethites and the Pelethites. David’s own sons were his trusted chiefs giving him advice.
Jesus (speaking aloud as He teaches on the temple’s porch): 28 You think you know Me and where I have come from, but I have not come here on My own. I have been sent by the One who embodies truth. You do not know Him. 29 I know Him because I came from Him. He has sent Me.
30 Some were trying to seize Him because of His words, but no one laid as much as a finger on Him—His time had not yet arrived. 31 In the crowd, there were many in whom faith was taking hold.
Believers in the Crowd: When the Anointed arrives, will He perform any more signs than this man has done?
32 Some Pharisees were hanging back in the crowd, overhearing the gossip about Him. The temple authorities and the Pharisees took action and sent officers to arrest Jesus.
Jesus: 33 I am going to be with you for a little while longer; then I will return to the One who sent Me. 34 You will look for Me, but you will not be able to find Me. Where I am, you are unable to come.
Some Jews in the Crowd (to each other): 35 Where could He possibly go that we could not find Him? You don’t think He’s about to go into the Dispersion[a] and teach our people scattered among the Greeks, do you? 36 What do you think He means, “You will look for Me, but you will not be able to find Me,” and, “Where I am, you are unable to come”?
37 On the last day, the biggest day of the festival, Jesus stood again and spoke aloud.
Jesus: If any of you is thirsty, come to Me and drink. 38 If you believe in Me, the Hebrew Scriptures say that rivers of living water will flow from within you.[b]
39 Jesus was referring to the realities of life in the Spirit made available to everyone who believes in Him. But the Spirit had not yet arrived because Jesus had not been glorified.
The Holy Spirit connects believers to the Father and His Son. So any fear about being disconnected from God may be abandoned; the Creator of the Universe dwells within His people, sustains them, and will accomplish the impossible through them.
Some of the Crowd: 40 This man is definitely the Prophet.
Others: 41 This is God’s Anointed, the Liberating King!
Still Others: Is it possible for the Anointed to come from Galilee? 42 Don’t the Hebrew Scriptures say that He will come from Bethlehem,[c] King David’s village, and be a descendant of King David?
43 Rumors and opinions about the true identity of Jesus divided the crowd. 44 Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one dared to touch Him.
45 The officers who had been sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to take Jesus into custody returned empty-handed, and they faced some hard questions.
Chief Priest and Pharisees: Where is Jesus? Why didn’t you capture Him?
Officers: 46 We listened to Him. Never has a man spoken like this man.
Pharisees: 47 So you have also been led astray? 48 Can you find one leader or educated Pharisee who believes this man? Of course not. 49 This crowd is plagued by ignorance about the teachings of the law; that is why they will listen to Him. That is also why they are under God’s curse.
50 Nicodemus, the Pharisee who approached Jesus under the cloak of darkness, was present when the officers returned empty-handed. He addressed the leaders.
Nicodemus: 51 Does our law condemn someone without first giving him a fair hearing and learning something about him?
Pharisees (ignoring Nicodemus’s legal point): 52 Are you from Galilee too? Look it up for yourself; no real prophet is supposed to come from Galilee.
[53 The time came for everyone to go home.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.