Beginning
The Successful Move of the Ark to Jerusalem
15 David constructed buildings for himself in the City of David. He established a place for the Ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
2 Then David said, “Nobody is to carry God’s ark except the Levites, because the Lord chose them to carry the Ark of the Lord and to serve him forever.” 3 David gathered all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the Ark of the Lord to the place that he had prepared for it.
4 David gathered the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:
5 representing the sons of Kohath were Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives,[a]
6 representing the sons of Merari were Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives,
7 representing the sons of Gershom were Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives,
8 representing the sons of Elizaphan were Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives,
9 representing the sons of Hebron were Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives,
10 representing the sons of Uzziel were Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.
11 So David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, “You are the leading fathers of the descendants of Levi. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers. Bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place prepared for it, 13 because the first time, when you were not there, the Lord our God burst out against us, because we did not inquire about and follow the proper procedures.”
14 The priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 The descendants of Levi carried the Ark of God with poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. 16 David told the leading officials of the Levites to appoint their brother Levites as singers with musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals, to raise their voices for the people to hear with joy.
17 The Levites appointed Heman son of Joel, and from the Levites closely related to him they appointed Asaph son of Berekiah, and from their relatives who were the descendants of Merari they appointed Ethan son of Kushaiah.
18 Their brother Levites assigned to serve with them on the second level were Zechariah,[b] Ja’aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Ma’aseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.[c]
19 Also appointed were the singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, to sound the bronze cymbals,
20 Zechariah, Aziel,[d] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Ma’aseiah, and Benaiah, to play the harps according to alamoth,
21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah with lyres, to lead according to sheminith.[e]
22 Kenaniah was musical leader of the Levites, directing the music because he had the skill.
23 Berekiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the Ark.
24 The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were directed to blow trumpets before the Ark of God.
Obed Edom and Jehiah were also gatekeepers for the Ark.
25 David, the elders of Israel, and the leaders of the units of a thousand were going to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed Edom. They were celebrating as they went, 26 because God was helping the Levites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a fine linen robe, as were all of the Levites who were carrying the ark, the singers, and Kenaniah, the choir director for the singers. David was wearing a special linen vest.[f]
28 All Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sound of the ram’s horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and with music on harps and lyres. 29 When the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came to the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out through the window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.
16 They brought the Ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it. They offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings[g] before God. 2 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 He distributed to each and every Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread, a cake of dates,[h] and a cake of raisins.
4 He designated the following individuals from the Levites to serve before the Ark of the Lord by remembering, thanking, and praising the Lord, the God of Israel:
5 Asaph was the leader. Zechariah was directly under him.
Jeiel,[i] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel were to play music on harps and lyres.
Asaph was sounding the cymbals.
6 Benaiah and Jahaziel, the priests with trumpets, were to be continually before the Ark of the Covenant of God.
The Psalm of Thanks[j]
7 On that day David first gave the directive to give thanks to the Lord through the ministry of Asaph and his associates:
8 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his deeds among the peoples.
9 Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his wonderful acts.[k]
10 Praise his holy name.
The hearts of those who seek the Lord will rejoice.
11 Seek the Lord and his strength.
Seek his presence continually.
12 Remember his wonderful acts, his signs,
and the judgments from his mouth,
13 you descendants[l] of Israel, his servant,
you sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14 He is the Lord our God.
His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
a word he commanded for a thousand generations,
16 his covenant which he made with Abraham,
which was his sworn promise to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a statute for Israel,
an everlasting covenant.
18 He said, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as a portion for your inheritance,
19 even though your numbers are small,
and you are insignificant,
and you are living in it as aliens.”
20 They were wandering from nation to nation
and from one kingdom to another people.
21 Yet he did not permit anyone to oppress them.
He rebuked kings on their account:
22 “You must not touch my anointed ones.
Against my prophets you must do no harm.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his wonderful acts among all the peoples,
25 for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.
He is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are not gods at all.[m]
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Honor 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 of his name.
Bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth.
Surely the world stands firm.
It shall never be overthrown.
31 The heavens will be glad.[n]
The earth will rejoice.
They will say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
32 The sea and everything that fills it will roar.
The fields and everything in them will celebrate.
33 The trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
35 Say, “Save us, O God of our salvation.
Gather us and save us from the nations,
to give thanks to your holy name,
to glorify you by praising you.”
36 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said “Amen” and praised the Lord.
37 David left Asaph and his relatives there before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, to minister before the Ark continually, to do whatever was needed each day, 38 along with Obed Edom and sixty-eight relatives. Obed Edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah served as gatekeepers.
39 Zadok the priest and his fellow priests were assigned to the Tent of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon, 40 to present burnt offerings to the Lord upon the altar for burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening, according to everything written in the Law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel.
41 With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endures forever.
42 With them were Heman and Jeduthun to make music to God with trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments. The descendants of Jeduthun were assigned to the gate.
43 Then all the people departed, each to his own house, and David returned to bless his house.
The Lord’s Covenant With David
17 After David was living in his own house, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a house of cedar, but the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord sits under tent curtains.”
2 Nathan said to David, “Do everything that is in your heart, because God is with you.”
3 But that night the word of God came to Nathan. 4 “Go and tell David my servant these things.”
This is what the Lord says. You will not be the one to build a house for me to live in, 5 for I have not lived in a house from the day when I caused Israel to go up from Egypt until this day, but I have been in a moving tent as my dwelling place.[o] 6 In all my traveling about with all the Israelites, did I ever speak a word with one of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, or ask, “Why have you not built a house of cedar for me?”
7 Now you are also to say the following to my servant David:
This is what the Lord of Armies says. I took you from the pastures, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel. 8 I have been with you wherever you went. I have cut off all your enemies before you. I will make a reputation for you like the reputation of the great ones in the earth. 9 I will establish a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them there. They will dwell there, and they will not be disturbed anymore. I will not allow wicked men to devastate them again as I did in the beginning, 10 and as it happened during the times when I commanded judges over my people Israel, but I will subdue all your enemies.
I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you. 11 When your days are completed, you will go to be with your fathers. I will raise up your seed[p] after you from among your sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He will build a house for me. I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. My mercy I will not take away from him as I took it from the one who was before you. 14 I will cause him to stand in my house and in my kingdom forever. His throne will be established forever.
15 Nathan told David all the words that had been revealed in this vision.
David’s Response to the Covenant
16 Then King David went and sat before the Lord and said:
Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me to this point? 17 Yet this was a small thing in your eyes, God! You have spoken about the house of your servant for a long time into the future. You have revealed to me the course for the man who will arise, Lord God.[q]
18 What more can David add to you for honoring your servant? You know your servant.
19 Lord, for the sake of your servant and according to the plan of your heart, you have carried out this great thing by making known all these great promises. 20 Lord, there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, as is apparent from everything which our ears have heard.
21 Who is like your people Israel? It is the one nation on earth for whom God went out to redeem a people to himself, to make for yourself a great name, by doing great and awe-inspiring things in order to drive out nations in front of your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt. 22 You adopted Israel as your people forever. You, O Lord, became their God.
23 Now, Lord, the word which you have spoken about your servant and about his house will stand firm forever. Do as you have spoken. 24 It will stand firm. Your name will be great forever. It will be said: The Lord of Armies is the God of Israel.[r] The house of David your servant will be established before you.
25 For you, my God, have whispered into the ear[s] of your servant that you would build a house for him. That is why your servant has dared to pray before you. 26 Now, Lord, you are God and have said these good things concerning your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant to be forever before you. For what you, Lord, have blessed is blessed forever.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.