A Tent for the Ark

16 And they brought in the ark of God and (A)placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both men and women, to everyone a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a raisin cake.

He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then [a]Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with musical instruments, harps, and lyres; also Asaph played loud-sounding cymbals, and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

Then on that day David (B)first assigned [b]Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.

Psalm of Thanksgiving

(C)Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;
(D)Make His deeds known among the peoples.
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
[c]Speak of all His [d]wonders.
10 Boast in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be joyful.
11 (E)Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face continually.
12 (F)Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,
(G)His marvels and the judgments from His mouth,
13 You [e]descendants of Israel His servant,
Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
(H)His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,
16 (I)The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac.
17 (J)He also confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 Saying, “(K)To you I will give the land of Canaan,
As the portion of your inheritance.”
19 (L)When they were only a few in number,
Very few, and strangers in it,
20 And they wandered from nation to nation,
And from one kingdom to another people,
21 He allowed no one to oppress them,
And (M)He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
22 “Do not touch My anointed ones,
And (N)do not harm My prophets.”
23 (O)Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day.
24 Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
25 For (P)great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He also is (Q)to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are [f](R)idols,
(S)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, you families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an [g]offering, and come before Him;
(T)Worship the Lord in [h]holy attire.
30 Tremble before Him, all the earth;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
31 [i](U)Let the heavens be joyful, and the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, “(V)The Lord reigns.”
32 (W)Let the sea [j]roar, and [k]everything it contains;
Let the field rejoice, and everything that is in it.
33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy in the presence of the Lord;
For He is coming to judge the earth.
34 (X)Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
35 (Y)Then say, “Save us, God of our salvation,
And gather us and save us from the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
And [l]glory in Your praise.”
36 (Z)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting!

Then all the people (AA)said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

Worship before the Ark

37 So he left Asaph and his relatives there (AB)before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to minister before the ark continually, (AC)as every day’s work required, 38 and (AD)Obed-edom with [m]his sixty-eight relatives; Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and (AE)Hosah as gatekeepers. 39 He left (AF)Zadok the priest and his relatives the priests (AG)before the [n]tabernacle of the Lord in the high place which was at Gibeon, 40 to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, (AH)even according to everything that is written in the Law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel. 41 With them were (AI)Heman and Jeduthun, and (AJ)the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to (AK)give thanks to the Lord, because His [o]kindness is everlasting. 42 And with them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who were to play them, and with instruments for (AL)the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun for the gate.

43 (AM)Then all the people departed, each to his house; and David returned to bless his household.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:5 In 1 Chr 15:18, Jaaziel
  2. 1 Chronicles 16:7 Lit by the hand of Asaph
  3. 1 Chronicles 16:9 Or Meditate on
  4. 1 Chronicles 16:9 I.e., wonderful acts
  5. 1 Chronicles 16:13 Lit seed of
  6. 1 Chronicles 16:26 Or non-existent things
  7. 1 Chronicles 16:29 Or a grain offering
  8. 1 Chronicles 16:29 Or the splendor of holiness
  9. 1 Chronicles 16:31 Hopeful command or wish, not a request; and so through v 32
  10. 1 Chronicles 16:32 Or thunder
  11. 1 Chronicles 16:32 Lit its fullness
  12. 1 Chronicles 16:35 Lit boast
  13. 1 Chronicles 16:38 Lit their brothers, sixty-eight
  14. 1 Chronicles 16:39 Lit dwelling place
  15. 1 Chronicles 16:41 Or faithfulness

16 They brought in God’s chest and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they brought entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices before God. When David had finished offering the entirely burned offerings and the well-being sacrifices, he blessed the people in the Lord’s name and distributed a loaf of bread, a piece of meat,[a] and a raisin cake to every Israelite man and woman.

David establishes worship

David appointed some of the Levites to serve before the Lord’s chest in order to remember, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, Israel’s God: Asaph was the leader, and Zechariah his assistant; also Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel with harps and lyres; Asaph sounding the cymbals; and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blowing trumpets regularly before the chest containing God’s covenant. On the same day, for the first time, David ordered Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the Lord.

David’s song of praise

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
    make his deeds known to all people!
Sing to God, sing praises to him;
    dwell on all his wondrous works!
10 Give praise to God’s holy name!
    Let the hearts of all those seeking the Lord rejoice!
11 Pursue the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always!
12 Remember the wondrous works he has done,
    all his marvelous works,
    and the justice he declared—
13         you who are the offspring of Israel, his servant,
        and the children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 The Lord—he is our God.
    His justice is everywhere throughout the whole world.
15 God remembers[b] his covenant forever,
    the word he commanded to a thousand generations,
16     which he made with Abraham,
        the solemn pledge he swore to Isaac.
17     God set it up as binding law for Jacob,
        as an eternal covenant for Israel,
18         promising, “I hereby give you the land of Canaan
        as your allotted inheritance.”
19 When they[c] were few in number—
    insignificant, just immigrants—
20     wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to the next,
21         God didn’t let anyone oppress them.
        God punished kings for their sake:
22 “Don’t touch my anointed ones;
    don’t harm my prophets!”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
    Share the news of his saving work every single day!
24 Declare God’s glory among the nations;
    declare his wondrous works among all people
25         because the Lord is great and so worthy of praise.
He is awesome beyond all other gods
26     because all the gods of the nations are just idols,
        but it is the Lord who created heaven!
27 Greatness and grandeur are in front of him;
    strength and joy are in his place.
28 Give to the Lord, all families of the nations—
    give to the Lord glory and power!
29     Give to the Lord the glory due his name!
        Bring gifts! Enter his presence!
        Bow down to the Lord
        in his holy splendor!
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
    Yes, he set the world firmly in place;[d]
    it won’t be shaken.
31 Let heaven celebrate!
    Let the earth rejoice!
    Let the nations say, “The Lord rules!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it roar!
    Let the countryside and everything in it celebrate!
33 Then the trees of the forest will shout out joyfully
    before the Lord, because he is coming
    to establish justice on earth!
34 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
    because his faithful love endures forever.
35 Say: “Save us, God, our savior!
    Gather us! Deliver us from among the nations
        so we can give thanks to your holy name
        and rejoice in your praise.”
36 Bless the Lord, Israel’s God,
    from forever in the past to forever always.
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the Lord!

37 Then David placed Asaph and his relatives, together with Obed-edom and sixty-eight of his relatives, to minister there continually before the chest containing the Lord’s covenant, following the routines required on each day. 38 Obed-edom, Jeduthun’s son, and Hosah served as gatekeepers. 39 David also placed the priest Zadok and his other priestly relatives at the Lord’s dwelling at the shrine in Gibeon. 40 They were to offer continually, both morning and evening, entirely burned offerings to the Lord on the altar for entirely burned offerings, following the written requirements in the Lord’s Instruction, which he had given Israel. 41 With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen by name to give thanks to the Lord, because his faithful love lasts forever. 42 With them were also[e] the trumpets and the cymbals for the musicians and the instruments for God’s songs. Jeduthun’s family was at the gate. 43 Then all of the people left for their homes. And David returned to bless his household.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:3 Cf LXX, Syr, Vulg; Heb uncertain
  2. 1 Chronicles 16:15 LXX; MT Remember
  3. 1 Chronicles 16:19 LXX, Vulg; MT when you were
  4. 1 Chronicles 16:30 LXX; MT the world is firmly established
  5. 1 Chronicles 16:42 LXX; MT adds Heman and Jeduthun.