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

The Ark of the Covenant Placed in Its Tent

16 And they brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh. And he distributed to every man of Israel, both men and women, to each person a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of Yahweh, to invoke, thank, and praise Yahweh the God of Israel. Asaph was chief, and his second was Zechariah; Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel were on harps and lyres. And Asaph played on the cymbals. And Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew on the trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. Then on that day David first appointed to give thanks to Yahweh by the hand of Asaph and his brothers.

David’s Song of Thanks

Give thanks to Yahweh; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the nations!
Sing to him; sing praises to him;
    tell of his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those seeking Yahweh rejoice!
11 Seek Yahweh and his strength;
    seek his face continually!
12 Remember his wonderful works that he has done,
    his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
13 O offspring of Israel, his servant,
    O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
14 He is Yahweh our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
    the word he commanded for a thousand generations,
16 that he made[a] with Abraham,
    his sworn oath to Isaac.
17 And he confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
    an everlasting covenant to Israel,
18 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,
    the portion of your inheritance.”
19 When you were few in number, little,
    and sojourners were in it,
20 when they wandered from nation to nation,
    and from one kingdom to another people,
21 he did not allow anyone to oppress them,
    and he rebuked kings on their account,
22 saying, “You must not touch my anointed
    nor do harm to my prophets!”
23 Sing to Yahweh, all the earth!
    Proclaim his salvation from day to day!
24 Proclaim his glory among the nations,
    his wondrous works among the peoples!
25 For Yahweh is great and greatly praised,
    and he is feared among all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but Yahweh made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to Yahweh, O clans of the nations,
    ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!
29 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of his name!
    Lift up an offering and come before him!
    Bow down to Yahweh in the splendor of holiness!
30 Tremble before him, all the earth;
    surely the world shall not be shaken.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad,
    and let them tell the peoples, “Yahweh reigns!”
32 Let the sea roar and its fullness;
    let the field rejoice and all that is in it.
33 Then the trees of the forest shall sing for joy before Yahweh,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good;
    his loyal love is everlasting.
35 Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation;
    gather us and rescue us from the nations
    that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.
36 Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!”

Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised Yahweh.

Worship and the Ark

37 So he[b] left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to minister before the ark regularly as each day required,[c] 38 and he left Obed-Edom with his sixty-eight brothers. And Obed-Edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were gatekeepers. 39 And he left Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of Yahweh at the high place which was at Gibeon 40 to offer burnt offerings regularly to Yahweh on the altar of burnt offering, morning and evening, according to all that was written in the law of Yahweh that he commanded concerning Israel. 41 And with them were Heman and Jeduthun and the remainder of those chosen, who were designated by name to give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love is everlasting. 42 And Heman and Jeduthun with them had trumpets and cymbals for making music, along with instruments for the song of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate. 43 Then all the people went each to his house, and David turned to bless his household.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:16 Literally “cut”
  2. 1 Chronicles 16:37 That is, David
  3. 1 Chronicles 16:37 Literally “according to the word of a day with respect to its day”