The Daily Audio Bible

Worship at Jerusalem and Gibeon

³⁷ King David put Asaph and the other Levites in permanent charge of the worship that was held at the place where the Covenant Box was kept. They were to perform their duties there day by day. ³⁸ Obed Edom son of Jeduthun and sixty-eight men of his clan were to assist them. Hosah and Obed Edom were in charge of guarding the gates.

³⁹ Zadok the priest and his fellow priests, however, were in charge of the worship of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon. ⁴⁰ Every morning and evening they were to burn sacrifices whole on the altar in accordance with what was written in the Law which the Lord gave to Israel. ⁴¹ There with them were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who were specifically chosen to sing praises to the Lord for his eternal love. ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun also had charge of the trumpets and cymbals and the other instruments which were played when the songs of praise were sung. The members of Jeduthun's clan were in charge of guarding the gates.

^43 (A)Then everyone went home, and David went home to spend some time with his family.

Nathan's Message to David^(B)

17 King David was now living in his palace. One day he sent for the prophet Nathan and said to him, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but the Lord's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!”

² Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because God is with you.”

³ But that night God said to Nathan, ⁴ “Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in. ⁵ From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now I have never lived in a temple; I have always lived in tents and moved from place to place. ⁶ In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’

⁷ “So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. ^9-10 I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to defeat all your enemies and to give you descendants. ¹¹ When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. ¹² He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever. ^13 (C)I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king. ¹⁴ I will put him in charge of my people and my kingdom forever. His dynasty will never end.’”

¹⁵ Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving^(D)

¹⁶ Then King David went into the Tent of the Lord's presence, sat down, and prayed, “I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, Lord God, nor is my family. ¹⁷ Yet now you are doing even more; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come, and you, Lord God, are already treating me like someone great.^{[a] 18} What more can I say to you! You know me well, and yet you honor me, your servant. ¹⁹ It was your will and purpose to do this for me and to show me my future greatness. ²⁰ Lord, there is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God. ²¹ There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for them spread your fame throughout the world. You rescued your people from Egypt and drove out other nations as your people advanced. ²² You have made Israel your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

²³ “And now, O Lord, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would. ²⁴ Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.’ And you will preserve my dynasty for all time. ²⁵ I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, my God, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings. ²⁶ You, Lord, are God, and you have made this wonderful promise to me. ²⁷ I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Lord, have blessed them, and your blessing will rest on them forever.”

David's Military Victories^(E)

18 Some time later King David attacked the Philistines again and defeated them. He took out of their control the city of Gath and its surrounding villages. ² He also defeated the Moabites, who became his subjects and paid taxes to him.

³ Next, David attacked King Hadadezer of the Syrian state of Zobah, near the territory of Hamath, because Hadadezer was trying to gain control of the territory by the upper Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand cavalry troops, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest.

⁵ When the Syrians of Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer, David attacked it and killed twenty-two thousand men. ⁶ Then he set up military camps in their territory, and they became his subjects and paid taxes to him. The Lord made David victorious everywhere. ⁷ David captured the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officials and took them to Jerusalem. ^8 (F)He also took a great quantity of bronze from Tibhath and Kun, cities ruled by Hadadezer. (Solomon later used this bronze to make the tank, the columns, and the bronze utensils for the Temple.)

⁹ King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's entire army. ¹⁰ So he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer, against whom Toi had fought many times. Joram brought David presents made of gold, silver, and bronze. ¹¹ King David dedicated them for use in worship, along with the silver and gold he took from the nations he conquered—Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.

^12 (G)Abishai, whose mother was Zeruiah, defeated the Edomites in Salt Valley and killed eighteen thousand of them. ¹³ He set up military camps throughout Edom, and the people there became King David's subjects. The Lord made David victorious everywhere.

¹⁴ David ruled over all Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly. ¹⁵ Abishai's brother Joab was commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records; ¹⁶ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah^[b] was court secretary; ¹⁷ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of David's bodyguards; and King David's sons held high positions in his service.

God's Judgment

2 ^(A)Do you, my friend, pass judgment on others? You have no excuse at all, whoever you are. For when you judge others and then do the same things which they do, you condemn yourself. ² We know that God is right when he judges the people who do such things as these. ³ But you, my friend, do those very things for which you pass judgment on others! Do you think you will escape God's judgment? ^4 (B)Or perhaps you despise his great kindness, tolerance, and patience. Surely you know that God is kind, because he is trying to lead you to repent. ⁵ But you have a hard and stubborn heart, and so you are making your own punishment even greater on the Day when God's anger and righteous judgments will be revealed. ^6 (C)For God will reward each of us according to what we have done. ⁷ Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life. ⁸ Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury. ⁹ There will be suffering and pain for all those who do what is evil, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles. ¹⁰ But God will give glory, honor, and peace to all who do what is good, to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles. ^11 (D)For God judges everyone by the same standard.

¹² The Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses; they sin and are lost apart from the Law. The Jews have the Law; they sin and are judged by the Law. ¹³ For it is not by hearing the Law that people are put right with God, but by doing what the Law commands. ¹⁴ The Gentiles do not have the Law; but whenever they do by instinct what the Law commands, they are their own law, even though they do not have the Law. ¹⁵ Their conduct shows that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. Their consciences also show that this is true, since their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them. ¹⁶ And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ What about you? You call yourself a Jew; you depend on the Law and boast about God; ¹⁸ you know what God wants you to do, and you have learned from the Law to choose what is right; ¹⁹ you are sure that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor for the foolish, and a teacher for the ignorant. You are certain that in the Law you have the full content of knowledge and of truth. ²¹ You teach others—why don't you teach yourself? You preach, “Do not steal”—but do you yourself steal? ²² You say, “Do not commit adultery”—but do you commit adultery? You detest idols—but do you rob temples? ²³ You boast about having God's law—but do you bring shame on God by breaking his law? ^24 (E)The scripture says, “Because of you Jews, the Gentiles speak evil of God.”

⁸ Do yourself a favor and learn all you can; then remember what you learn and you will prosper.

⁹ No one who tells lies in court can escape punishment; he is doomed.