Beginning

The Ark of the Covenant Brought to Jerusalem

15 David built houses for himself in Jerusalem. Then he built a place for the Ark of the Covenant of God. And he set up a tent for it. ² Then David said, “Only the Levites may carry the Ark of the Covenant of God. The Lord chose them to carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. He chose them to serve him forever.”

³ David called all the people of Israel to come to Jerusalem. He wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to the place he had made for it. ⁴ David called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites. ⁵ There were 120 people from Kohath’s family group. Uriel was their leader. ⁶ There were 220 people from Merari’s family group. Asaiah was their leader. ⁷ There were 130 people from Gershon’s family group. Joel was their leader. ⁸ There were 200 people from Elizaphan’s family group. Shemaiah was their leader. ⁹ There were 80 people from Hebron’s family group. Eliel was their leader. ¹⁰ There were 112 people from Uzziel’s family group. Amminadab was their leader.

¹¹ Then David asked the priests Zadok and Abiathar to come to him. He also asked these Levites to come: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab. ¹² David said to them, “You are the leaders of the families of Levi. You and the other Levites must give yourselves for service to the Lord. Then bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the God of Israel. Bring it to the place I have made for it. ¹³ The last time we did not ask the Lord how to carry it. You Levites didn’t carry it. So the Lord our God punished us.”

¹⁴ Then the priests and Levites prepared themselves for service to the Lord. They did this so they could carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ The Levites used special poles to carry the Ark of the Covenant of God on their shoulders. This was the way Moses had commanded. They carried it just as the Lord had said they should.

¹⁶ David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers. The singers were to play their lyres, harps and cymbals. And they were to sing happy songs.

¹⁷ So the Levites appointed Heman and his relatives Asaph and Ethan. Heman was Joel’s son. Asaph was Berekiah’s son. And Ethan, from the Merari family group, was Kushaiah’s son. ¹⁸ There was also a second group of Levites. They were Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were the Levite guards.

¹⁹ The singers Heman, Asaph and Ethan played bronze cymbals. ²⁰ Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah played the high-pitched lyres. ²¹ Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah played the low-pitched harps. ²² The Levite leader Kenaniah was in charge of the singing. He had this job because he was very good at singing.

²³ Berekiah and Elkanah were two of the guards for the Ark of the Covenant. ²⁴ The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer had the job of blowing trumpets. They did this in front of the Ark of the Covenant. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also guards for the Ark of the Covenant.

²⁵ David, the leaders of Israel, and the commanders went to get the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. Each of the commanders was over a group of 1,000 soldiers. They all went to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Obed-Edom’s house. And they were very happy. ²⁶ God helped the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. So they sacrificed seven bulls and seven male sheep. ²⁷ All the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant wore robes of fine linen. Kenaniah, the man in charge of the singing, and all the singers wore robes of fine linen. David wore a robe of fine linen. And he also wore a holy vest of fine linen. ²⁸ So all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. They shouted and blew sheep horns and trumpets. They played cymbals, lyres, and harps.

²⁹ So the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord entered Jerusalem. As it entered, Saul’s daughter Michal watched from a window. When she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she hated him.

16 They brought the Ark of the Covenant of God and put it inside the tent. This was the tent David had set up for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God. ² David finished giving the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he used the Lord’s name to bless the people. ³ He gave a loaf of bread, some dates and raisins to every Israelite man and woman.

⁴ Then David appointed some of the Levites to serve before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They had the job of leading the worship. They gave thanks and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁵ Asaph was the leader. He played the cymbals. Zechariah was second to him. The other Levites were Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They played the lyres and harps. ⁶ Benaiah and Jahaziel were priests. They blew the trumpets regularly before the Ark of the Covenant with God. ⁷ That day David first gave Asaph and his relatives the job of singing praises to the Lord.

David’s Song of Thanks

All the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

³⁷ Then David left Asaph and the other Levites there in front of the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. They were to serve there every day. ³⁸ David also left Obed-Edom and 68 other Levites to serve with them. Hosah and Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun were guards.

³⁹ David left Zadok the priest and the other priests who served with him in front of the Tent of the Lord. This was at the place of worship in Gibeon. ⁴⁰ Every morning and evening they offered burnt offerings on the altar of burnt offerings. They did this to follow the rules written in the Teachings of the Lord. These were the Teachings he had given Israel. ⁴¹ With them were Heman and Jeduthun and other Levites. They were chosen by name to sing praises to the Lord because the Lord’s love continues forever. ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun also had the job of playing the trumpets and cymbals. They also played other musical instruments when songs were sung to God. Jeduthun’s sons guarded the gates.

⁴³ Then all the people left. Each person went to his own home. And David also went home to bless his family.

God’s Promise to David

17 David moved into his palace. Then he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace made of cedar. But the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord sits in a tent.”

² Nathan answered David, “Do what you want to do. God is with you.”

³ But that night God spoke his word to Nathan. God said, ⁴ “Go and tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: David, you are not the person to build a house for me to live in. ⁵ From the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until now I have not lived in a house. I have moved from one tent site to another. I have gone from one place to another. ⁶ I have moved with the Israelites to different places. I commanded leaders to take care of my people. I never said to any of those leaders, “Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?”’

⁷ “Now, tell my servant David: ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies says: I took you from the pasture and from tending the sheep. I made you king of my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you everywhere you have gone. I have killed your enemies for you. Now I will make you one of the most famous men on earth. ⁹ I will give this place to my people Israel. I will settle them here. Then they will have a home of their own. They won’t be bothered anymore. Evil people won’t hurt them as they have done since the first. ¹⁰ Evil people have hurt them since I chose leaders for my people Israel. I will also defeat all your enemies.

“‘I tell you that the Lord will make your descendants kings of Israel after you. ¹¹ When you die and join your ancestors, I will let your child be the new king. He will be one of your own sons. And I will make his kingdom strong. ¹² He will build a house for me. And I will let his family rule forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be my son. I took away my love from Saul, who ruled before you. But I will never stop loving your son. ¹⁴ I will put him in charge of my house and kingdom forever. His family will rule forever.’”

¹⁵ Nathan told David everything God had said in this vision.

David’s Prayer

¹⁶ Then King David went in and sat in front of the Lord. David said, “Lord God, why have you made me so important to you? Why have you made my family important? ¹⁷ But that was not enough for you, God. You have also said these kind things about my future family. I am your servant. Lord God, you have treated me like a very important man.

¹⁸ “What more can I say to you? You have done so much for me, your servant. You love me so much. ¹⁹ Lord, you have done this wonderful thing for me for my sake. And you have done it because you wanted to. You have let me know all these great promises.

²⁰ “There is no one like you, Lord. There is no God except you. We have heard all this ourselves. ²¹ There is no one like your people, the Israelites. It is the one nation on earth that God chose to be his people. You used them to make your name well-known. You did great and wonderful things for them. You went ahead of them and forced other nations out of the land. You freed your people from slavery in Egypt. ²² You made the people of Israel your very own people forever. And, Lord, you became their God.

²³ “Lord, you made this promise about my family and me, your servant. Now, keep your promise forever. Do what you have promised. ²⁴ Then people will know you and honor you forever. And people will say, ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the family of your servant David will continue before you.

²⁵ “My God, you have told me that you would make my family great. So I, your servant, am brave enough to pray to you. ²⁶ Lord, you are God. You have promised these good things to me, your servant. ²⁷ You have chosen to bless my family. Let it continue before you forever. Lord, you have blessed my family. So it will be blessed forever.”