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16 They brought the Ark of God and placed it inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God. When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord. Then he gave to every man and woman in all Israel a loaf of bread, a cake of dates,[a] and a cake of raisins.

David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the Lord—to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. Asaph, the leader of this group, sounded the cymbals. Second to him was Zechariah, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They played the harps and lyres. The priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, played the trumpets regularly before the Ark of God’s Covenant.

David’s Song of Praise

On that day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the Lord:

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
    Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
    Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
10 Exult in his holy name;
    rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
11 Search for the Lord and for his strength;
    continually seek him.
12 Remember the wonders he has performed,
    his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
13 you children of his servant Israel,
    you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

14 He is the Lord our God.
    His justice is seen throughout the land.
15 Remember his covenant forever—
    the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
16 This is the covenant he made with Abraham
    and the oath he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
    and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:
18 “I will give you the land of Canaan
    as your special possession.”

19 He said this when you were few in number,
    a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
20 They wandered from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
21 Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
    He warned kings on their behalf:
22 “Do not touch my chosen people,
    and do not hurt my prophets.”

23 Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
    Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
24 Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
    Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
25 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    He is to be feared above all gods.
26 The gods of other nations are mere idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens!
27 Honor and majesty surround him;
    strength and joy fill his dwelling.

28 O nations of the world, recognize the Lord,
    recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
29 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
    Bring your offering and come into his presence.
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
30     Let all the earth tremble before him.
    The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.

31 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
    Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
    Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
33 Let the trees of the forest sing 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.
35 Cry out, “Save us, O God of our salvation!
    Gather and rescue us from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name
    and rejoice and praise you.”

36 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who lives from everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Worship at Jerusalem and Gibeon

37 David arranged for Asaph and his fellow Levites to serve regularly before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, doing whatever needed to be done each day. 38 This group included Obed-edom (son of Jeduthun), Hosah, and sixty-eight other Levites as gatekeepers.

39 Meanwhile, David stationed Zadok the priest and his fellow priests at the Tabernacle of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon, where they continued to minister before the Lord. 40 They sacrificed the regular burnt offerings to the Lord each morning and evening on the altar set aside for that purpose, obeying everything written in the Law of the Lord, as he had commanded Israel. 41 David also appointed Heman, Jeduthun, and the others chosen by name to give thanks to the Lord, for “his faithful love endures forever.” 42 They used their trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments to accompany their songs of praise to God.[b] And the sons of Jeduthun were appointed as gatekeepers.

43 Then all the people returned to their homes, and David turned and went home to bless his own family.

Footnotes

  1. 16:3 Or a portion of meat. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  2. 16:42 Or to accompany the sacred music; or to accompany singing to God.

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”