Beginning

The Special Box Brought to Jerusalem

15 David built houses for himself in the city of David. He made a place ready for the special box of God. And he set up a tent for it. ² Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the special box of God. For the Lord chose them to carry the special box of the agreement and to serve Him forever.” ³ David gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the special box of the Lord to the place he had made for it. ⁴ He gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites. ⁵ Uriel became leader of the sons of Kohath, and 120 of his brothers. ⁶ Asaiah became the leader of the sons of Merari, and 220 of his brothers. ⁷ Joel became the leader of the sons of Gershom, and 130 of his brothers. ⁸ Shemaiah became the leader of the sons of Elizaphan, and 200 of his brothers. ⁹ Eliel became the leader of the sons of Hebron, and 80 of his brothers. ¹⁰ Amminadab became the leader of the sons of Uzziel, and 112 of his brothers. ¹¹ Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the religious leaders. And he called for the Levites, Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab. ¹² He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. Make yourselves and your brothers holy, that you may bring up the special box of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have made for it. ¹³ The Lord our God brought trouble upon us because you did not carry it the first time. We did not care for it the way He had told us.” ¹⁴ So the religious leaders and the Levites made themselves holy, to bring up the special box of the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁵ The sons of the Levites carried the special box of God on their shoulders with the long pieces of wood. They did as Moses had told them by the Word of the Lord.

¹⁶ Then David told the heads of the Levites to choose their brothers who sing and play music. They were to play harps and timbrels and make sounds of joy. ¹⁷ So the Levites chose Heman the son of Joel. From his brothers they chose Asaph the son of Berechiah. From the sons of Merari their brothers, they chose Ethan the son of Kushaiah. ¹⁸ With them they chose their brothers of the second group. These were Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the gate-keepers. ¹⁹ The singers, Heman, Asaph and Ethan were chosen to make sounds of joy with objects of brass. ²⁰ Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were chosen to play the high sounds on harps. ²¹ Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were chosen to lead by playing the deep sounds on different kinds of harps. ²² Chenaniah, head of the Levites, was to lead the singing. He taught the singing because he was able. ²³ Berechiah and Elkanah were to watch the gate for the special box. ²⁴ Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer, the religious leaders, were to blow the horns in front of the special box of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were gate-keepers for the special box of God also.

²⁵ So David, the leaders of Israel and the captains of thousands went to bring up the special box with the Law of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with joy. ²⁶ God was helping the Levites who were carrying the special box of the agreement of the Lord. So they killed seven bulls and seven rams on the altar in worship. ²⁷ David was dressed in a long piece of clothing of fine linen. So were all the Levites who were carrying the special box of God. And so were the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the singing. David wore a linen vest also. ²⁸ So all Israel brought up the special box with the Law of the Lord. They brought it up with a loud voice, the sound of horns, and with loud-sounding timbrels and harps.

²⁹ When the special box with the Law of the Lord came to the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out of the window. She saw King David dancing and jumping for joy. And she hated him in her heart.

The Special Box in the Place of Worship

16 They brought the special box of God, and put it inside the tent David had set up for it. Then they gave burnt gifts and peace gifts to God. ² When David finished giving the burnt gifts and peace gifts, he prayed in the name of the Lord that good would come to the people. ³ He gave to every man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a share of meat, and a loaf of dried grapes.

⁴ David chose some of the Levites to do the work in front of the special box of the Lord. They were to be glad and thank and praise the Lord God of Israel. ⁵ Asaph was the leader, then Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They were to play harps. And Asaph played loud-sounding timbrels. ⁶ The religious leaders Benaiah and Jahaziel sounded the horns all the time in front of the special box with the Law of God.

A Song of Praise

⁷ Then on that day David first called upon Asaph and his brothers to give thanks to the Lord. ⁸ “O give thanks to the Lord. Call upon His name. Let the people know what He has done. ⁹ Sing to Him. Sing praises to Him. Tell of all His great works. ¹⁰ Have joy in His holy name. Let the heart of those who look to the Lord be glad. ¹¹ Look to the Lord and ask for His strength. Look to Him all the time. ¹² Remember His great works which He has done. Remember the special things He has done and how He has judged, ¹³ O children of Israel His servant, sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! ¹⁴ He is the Lord our God. He is judge of all the earth. ¹⁵ Remember His agreement forever, the Word which He gave to families and a thousand of their family groups to come. ¹⁶ Remember the agreement He made with Abraham, and His promise to Isaac. ¹⁷ To Jacob He made it a Law to be kept, as an agreement forever to Israel. ¹⁸ He said, ‘I will give the land of Canaan to you as the share of your birth-right,’ ¹⁹ when they were few in number. They were very few, and strangers in the land. ²⁰ They traveled from nation to nation, from the people of one king to the people of another. ²¹ He let no man make it hard for them. He spoke strong words to kings because of them, saying, ²² ‘Do not touch My chosen ones. Do not hurt those who speak for Me.’ ²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Tell the good news of His saving power from day to day. ²⁴ Tell of His greatness among the nations. Tell of His great works among all the people. ²⁵ For great is the Lord. He is to be given much praise. And He is to be honored with fear more than all gods. ²⁶ For all the gods of the people are false gods. But the Lord made the heavens. ²⁷ Honor and great power are with Him. Strength and joy are in His place. ²⁸ Praise the Lord, O families of the people. Praise the Lord for His greatness and strength. ²⁹ Praise the Lord for the greatness of His name. Bring a gift and come to Him. Worship the Lord clothed in His holiness. ³⁰ Shake with fear before Him, all the earth. Yes, the world is made to last. It will not be moved. ³¹ Let the heavens be glad. Let the earth be filled with joy. And let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord rules!’ ³² Let the sea thunder, and all that is in it. Let the field be happy, and all that is in it. ³³ Then the trees of the woods will sing for joy before the Lord. For He is coming to judge the earth. ³⁴ O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever. ³⁵ Then say, ‘Set us free, O God Who saves us. Gather and save us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name, and have joy in Your praise. ³⁶ Honor be to the Lord, the God of Israel forever and ever.’” Then all the people said, “Let it be so!” and they praised the Lord.

Worship at Jerusalem

³⁷ So David left Asaph and his brothers there in front of the special box with the Law of the Lord. He left them there to do the work in front of the special box always. They were to do whatever work needed to be done each day. ³⁸ He left Obed-edom there with his sixty-eight brothers. Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were to watch the gate. ³⁹ David left Zadok and his brothers who were the religious leaders in front of the meeting tent of the Lord in the high place at Gibeon. ⁴⁰ They were to give burnt gifts to the Lord on the altar of burnt gifts all the time, morning and evening. They were to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord which He told Israel. ⁴¹ With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen by name. They were to give thanks to the Lord, because His loving-kindness lasts forever. ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun had horns and timbrels for making sounds of joy as the songs of God were sung. The sons of Jeduthun were to watch the gate.

⁴³ Then all the people left. Each one went home. And David returned to bring good to those of his house.

God’s Agreement with David

17 Now when David lived in his house, he said to Nathan the special preacher, “See, I am living in a house of cedar wood. But the special box with the Law of the Lord is under a tent.” ² Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart. For God is with you.” ³ But that same night the Word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ “Go and tell My servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says. “You will not build a house for Me to live in. ⁵ For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day. But I have gone from tent to tent and from one place to another to live. ⁶ In all the places I have gone with all Israel, have I said a word to any of the judges of Israel about this? Have I said to anyone whom I told to watch over My people, ‘Why have you not built a house of cedar wood for Me?’”’ ⁷ So now say to My servant David, ‘The Lord of All says, “I took you from the field, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you in every place you have gone. I have destroyed in front of you all those who hate you. And I will make your name to be known like the name of the great ones of the earth. ⁹ I will choose a place for My people Israel, and will plant them. So they will live in their own place and not be moved again. Never again will they be under the power of sinful men, as they were before, ¹⁰ from the time that I told judges to rule My people Israel. I will put under your power all those who hate you. And I say to you that the Lord will build a house for you. ¹¹ When your days are over, the time will come when you must go to be with your fathers. But then I will put into power one of your sons after you. I will make him king. ¹² He will build a house for Me. And I will make his throne last forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be My son. I will not take My loving-kindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. ¹⁴ But I will put him over My house and in My nation forever. And his throne will last forever.”’” ¹⁵ Nathan told David all these words from all this special dream.

David’s Prayer of Thanks

¹⁶ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O God? What is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁷ This was a small thing in Your eyes, O God. You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a long time to come. You have thought of me as if I were an important man, O Lord God. ¹⁸ What more can David say to You about the honor given to Your servant? For You know Your servant. ¹⁹ You have made all this greatness, O Lord. You have made known all these great things, for Your servant, and by Your own heart. ²⁰ O Lord, there is no one like You. There is no God other than You, by all that we have heard with our ears. ²¹ What other nation on earth is like Your people Israel? God went to free them to be His people. You made Yourself a name by great things which filled people with fear. You drove out the nations before Your people, whom You set free from Egypt. ²² You made Your people Israel to be Your people forever. And You, O Lord, became their God. ²³ Now, O Lord, let the Word that You have spoken about Your servant and his house be made sure forever. Do as You have said. ²⁴ Let Your name be made sure and honored forever, saying, ‘The Lord of All, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God. And the house of Your servant David is made to last before You.’ ²⁵ For You, O my God, have made it known to Your servant that You will build a house for him. So Your servant has found strength of heart to pray to You. ²⁶ And now, O Lord, You are God. You have promised this good thing to Your servant. ²⁷ Now it has pleased You to bring good to the house of Your servant. May it last forever before You. For when You bring good to something, O Lord, good is with it forever.”