The Ark Placed in a Tent

16 And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside ^(A)the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. ² And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord ³ and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat,^[a] and a cake of raisins.

⁴ Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. ^5 (B)Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶ and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. ⁷ Then on that day ^(C)David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.

David's Song of Thanks

^35 (AA)Say also:

^(AC)Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Worship Before the Ark

³⁷ So David left Asaph and his brothers there ^(AD)before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister regularly before the ark ^(AE)as each day required, ³⁸ and also ^(AF)Obed-edom and his^[c] sixty-eight brothers, while ^(AG)Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and ^(AH)Hosah were to be gatekeepers. ³⁹ And he left ^(AI)Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord ^(AJ)in the high place that was at Gibeon ⁴⁰ to offer burnt offerings to the Lord ^(AK)on the altar of burnt offering ^(AL)regularly morning and evening, to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord that he commanded Israel. ⁴¹ With them were ^(AM)Heman and Jeduthun ^(AN)and the rest of those chosen and ^(AO)expressly named to give thanks to the Lord, ^(AP)for his steadfast love endures forever. ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments ^(AQ)for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate.

^43 (AR)Then all the people departed each to his house, and David went home to bless his household.

The Lord's Covenant with David

17 ^(AS)Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.” ² And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

³ But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ⁴ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(AT)It is not you who will build me a house to dwell in. ⁵ For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day, ^(AU)but I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. ⁶ In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ ⁷ Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, ⁸ and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. ⁹ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, ¹⁰ from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I ^(AV)will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. ¹¹ When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ^13 (AW)I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, ^(AX)as I took it from him who was before you, ¹⁴ but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’” ¹⁵ In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David's Prayer

¹⁶ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? ¹⁷ And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations,^[d] O Lord God! ¹⁸ And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. ^19 (AY)For your servant's sake, O Lord, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. ²⁰ There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²¹ And who is like your people Israel, the one^[e] nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? ²² And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God. ²³ And now, O Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, ²⁴ and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. ²⁵ For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you. ²⁶ And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. ²⁷ Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O Lord, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

^16 (A)“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and ^(B)again a little while, and you will see me.” ¹⁷ So ^(C)some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ^(D)‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ^(E)‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? ^(F)We do not know what he is talking about.” ^19 (G)Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(H)you will weep and lament, but ^(I)the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but ^(J)your sorrow will turn into joy. ^21 (K)When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ^22 (L)So also you have sorrow now, but ^(M)I will see you again, and ^(N)your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. ^23 (O)In that day you will ^(P)ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(Q)whatever you ask of the Father in my name, ^(R)he will give it to you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in my name. ^(S)Ask, and you will receive, ^(T)that your joy may be full.

I Have Overcome the World

²⁵ “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. ^(U)The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; ^27 (V)for the Father himself loves you, because ^(W)you have loved me and ^(X)have believed that I came from God.^{[a] 28 (Y)}I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now ^(Z)I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

²⁹ His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not ^(AA)using figurative speech! ³⁰ Now we know that ^(AB)you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that ^(AC)you came from God.” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Behold, ^(AD)the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when ^(AE)you will be scattered, each to his own home, and ^(AF)will leave me alone. ^(AG)Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. ³³ I have said these things to you, that ^(AH)in me you may have peace. ^(AI)In the world you will have ^(AJ)tribulation. But ^(AK)take heart; ^(AL)I have overcome the world.”