David's Wives and Children

14 (A)And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

And David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David fathered more sons and daughters. (B)These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: (C)Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, (D)Beeliada and (E)Eliphelet.

Philistines Defeated

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went out against them. Now the Philistines had come and (F)made a raid in the (G)Valley of Rephaim. 10 And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” 11 And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through[a] my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. 12 And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned.

13 And the Philistines yet again (H)made a raid in the valley. 14 And when David again inquired of God, (I)God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 15 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 16 And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. 17 And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the (J)fear of him upon all nations.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

15 David[b] built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and (K)pitched a tent for it. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry (L)the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. (M)And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord (N)to its place, which he had prepared for it. And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and (O)the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers; of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers; of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers; of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers; 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers. 11 Then David summoned the priests (P)Zadok and (Q)Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites. (R)Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, (S)to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 (T)Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders (U)with the poles, (V)as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on (W)musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed (X)Heman the son of Joel; and of his brothers (Y)Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, (Z)Ethan the son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19 The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, (AA)Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to (AB)Alamoth; 21 but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, (AC)Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to (AD)the Sheminith. 22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, should (AE)blow the trumpets before the ark of God. (AF)Obed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.

25 (AG)So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of (AH)Obed-edom with rejoicing. 26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed (AI)seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, (AJ)trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on (AK)harps and lyres.

29 And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 14:11 Baal-perazim means Lord of breaking through
  2. 1 Chronicles 15:1 Hebrew He

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of (A)Ascents.

132 Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,
    all (B)the hardships he endured,
how he swore to the Lord
    and (C)vowed to (D)the Mighty One of Jacob,
“I will not enter my house
    or get into my bed,
I will not (E)give sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
until I (F)find a place for the Lord,
    a dwelling place for (G)the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Behold, we heard of it in (H)Ephrathah;
    we found it in (I)the fields of Jaar.
“Let us go to his dwelling place;
    let us (J)worship at his (K)footstool!”

(L)Arise, O Lord, and go to your (M)resting place,
    you and the ark of your (N)might.
Let your (O)priests be (P)clothed with righteousness,
    and let your (Q)saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
    (R)do not turn away the face of (S)your anointed one.

11 (T)The Lord swore to David a sure oath
    (U)from which he will not turn back:
(V)“One of the sons of your body[a]
    I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
    shall (W)sit on your throne.”

13 For the Lord has (X)chosen Zion;
    he has (Y)desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my (Z)resting place forever;
    here I will (AA)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (AB)bless her provisions;
    I will (AC)satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her (AD)priests I will clothe with salvation,
    and her (AE)saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make (AF)a horn to sprout for David;
    I have prepared (AG)a lamp for (AH)my anointed.
18 His enemies I will (AI)clothe with shame,
    but on him his crown will shine.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 132:11 Hebrew of your fruit of the womb

Who Is the Greatest?

18 (A)At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you (B)turn and (C)become like children, you (D)will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (E)Whoever humbles himself like this child is the (F)greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

(G)“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but (H)whoever causes one of these (I)little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

“Woe to the world for (J)temptations to sin![b] (K)For it is necessary that temptations come, (L)but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! (M)And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into (N)the eternal fire. (O)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the (P)hell[c] of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise (Q)one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven (R)their angels always (S)see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[d] 12 (T)What do you think? (U)If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So (V)it is not the will of my[e] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

15 (W)“If your brother sins against you, (X)go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have (Y)gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established (Z)by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, (AA)tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, (AB)let him be to you as (AC)a Gentile and (AD)a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, (AE)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[f] in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you (AF)agree on earth about anything they ask, (AG)it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are (AH)gathered in my name, (AI)there am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often (AJ)will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? (AK)As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished (AL)to settle accounts with his servants.[g] 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him (AM)ten thousand (AN)talents.[h] 25 (AO)And since he could not pay, his master ordered him (AP)to be sold, with his wife and (AQ)children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant[i] (AR)fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and (AS)forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred (AT)denarii,[j] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 (AU)And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 (AV)And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,[k] (AW)until he should pay all his debt. 35 (AX)So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother (AY)from your heart.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 18:6 Greek causes… to stumble; also verses 8, 9
  2. Matthew 18:7 Greek stumbling blocks
  3. Matthew 18:9 Greek Gehenna
  4. Matthew 18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11: For the Son of Man came to save the lost
  5. Matthew 18:14 Some manuscripts your
  6. Matthew 18:18 Or shall have been bound… shall have been loosed
  7. Matthew 18:23 Or bondservants; also verses 28, 31
  8. Matthew 18:24 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer
  9. Matthew 18:26 Or bondservant; also verses 27, 28, 29, 32, 33
  10. Matthew 18:28 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
  11. Matthew 18:34 Greek torturers

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