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. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord 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.

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. (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, and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 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

(D)Oh give thanks to the Lord; (E)call upon his name;
    (F)make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
11 (G)Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
12 (H)Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    (I)his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
13 O offspring of Israel his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

14 He is the Lord our God;
    (J)his judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant (K)that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
17 which (L)he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 saying, (M)“To you I will give the land of Canaan,
    as your portion for an inheritance.”

19 When you were (N)few in number,
    of little account, and (O)sojourners in it,
20 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
21 he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he (P)rebuked kings on their account,
22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my (Q)prophets no harm!”

23 (R)Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
    Tell of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
25 For (S)great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and he is to be feared (T)above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    (U)but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his place.

28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
    (V)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come before him!
(W)Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;[b]
30     tremble before him, all the earth;
    yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
31 (X)Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
    and let them say among the nations, (Y)“The Lord reigns!”
32 (Z)Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    let the field exult, and everything in it!
33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
    before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

35 (AA)Say also:

“Save us, O God of our salvation,
    and gather and deliver us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.
36 (AB)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!”

(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.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:3 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  2. 1 Chronicles 16:29 Or in holy attire
  3. 1 Chronicles 16:38 Hebrew their

16 They(A) brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it.(B) Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God’s presence. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh. Then he distributed to each and every Israelite, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.

David appointed some of the Levites to be ministers before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate the Lord God of Israel, and to give thanks and praise to Him. Asaph was the chief and Zechariah was second to him. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel played the harps and lyres, while Asaph sounded the cymbals and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

David’s Psalm of Thanksgiving

On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the Lord by Asaph and his relatives:

Give thanks(C) to Yahweh; call on His name;
proclaim His deeds among the peoples.(D)
Sing to Him; sing praise to Him;
tell about all His wonderful works!
10 Honor His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
11 Search for the Lord and for His strength;
seek His face always.(E)
12 Remember the wonderful works He has done,(F)
His wonders, and the judgments He has pronounced,[a](G)
13 you offspring of Israel His servant,
Jacob’s descendants—His chosen ones.

14 He is the Lord our God;
His judgments govern the whole earth.(H)
15 Remember His covenant forever—
the promise He ordained for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant He made with Abraham,
swore[b] to Isaac,(I)
17 and confirmed to Jacob as a decree,
and to Israel as an everlasting covenant:(J)
18 “I will give the land of Canaan to you
as your inherited portion.”(K)

19 When they[c] were few in number,
very few indeed,(L) and temporary residents in Canaan
20 wandering from nation to nation
and from one kingdom to another,
21 He allowed no one to oppress them;
He rebuked kings on their behalf:(M)
22 “Do not touch My anointed ones
or harm My prophets.”(N)

23 Sing(O) to the Lord, all the earth.
Proclaim His salvation from day to day.
24 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.

25 For the Lord is great and highly praised;(P)
He is feared above all gods.(Q)
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,(R)
but the Lord made the heavens.(S)
27 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and joy are in His place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;
bring an offering and come before Him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;(T)
30 tremble(U) before Him, all the earth.

The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.
31 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice,(V)
and let them say among the nations, “The Lord is King!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it resound;
let the fields and all that is in them exult.(W)
33 Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord,
for He is coming to judge the earth.

34 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.(X)
35 And say:(Y) “Save us, God of our salvation;
gather us and rescue us from the nations
so that we may give thanks to Your holy name
and rejoice in Your praise.
36 May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised(Z)
from everlasting to everlasting.”

Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

37 So David left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the Lord’s covenant to minister regularly(AA) before the ark according to the daily requirements.(AB) 38 He assigned Obed-edom(AC) and his[d] 68 relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah(AD) were to be gatekeepers. 39 David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon(AE) 40 to offer burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening, to the Lord on the altar of burnt offerings and to do everything that was written in the law of the Lord, which He had commanded Israel to keep.(AF) 41 With them were Heman,(AG) Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen and designated by name(AH) to give thanks to the Lord—for His faithful love endures forever.(AI) 42 Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals to play and musical instruments of God.(AJ) Jeduthun’s sons were at the gate.

43 Then all the people left for their homes, and David returned home to bless his household.(AK)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:12 Lit judgments of His mouth
  2. 1 Chronicles 16:16 Lit and His oath
  3. 1 Chronicles 16:19 One Hb ms, LXX, Vg; other Hb mss read you
  4. 1 Chronicles 16:38 LXX, Syr, Vg; Hb reads their