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David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem
15 David constructed buildings in the City of David; he then prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, “Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve before him perpetually.” 3 David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the ark of the Lord up to the place he had prepared for it. 4 David gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:
5 From the descendants of Kohath: Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives.
6 From the descendants of Merari: Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives.
7 From the descendants of Gershom:[a] Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives.
8 From the descendants of Elizaphan: Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives.
9 From the descendants of Hebron: Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives.
10 From the descendants of Uzziel: Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.
11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, along with the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He told them: “You are the leaders of the Levites’ families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves and bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel up to the place I have prepared for it. 13 The first time you did not carry it; that is why the Lord God attacked us, because we did not ask him about the proper way to carry it.”[b] 14 The priests and Levites consecrated themselves so they could bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. 15 The descendants of Levi carried the ark of God on their shoulders with poles, just as Moses had commanded in keeping with the Lord’s instruction.[c]
16 David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint some of their relatives as musicians; they were to play various instruments, including stringed instruments and cymbals, and to sing loudly and joyfully.[d] 17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; one of his relatives, Asaph son of Berechiah; one of the descendants of Merari,[e] Ethan son of Kushaiah; 18 along with some of their relatives who were second in rank, including Zechariah,[f] Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.
19 The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play the harps according to the alamoth style;[g] 21 Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to play the lyres according to the sheminith style,[h] as led by[i] the director; 22 Kenaniah, the leader of the Levites, was in charge of transport,[j] for he was well-informed[k] on this matter; 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were guardians[l] of the ark; 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer the priests were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God; Obed-Edom and Jehiel were also guardians[m] of the ark.
25 So David, the leaders of Israel, and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the house of Obed-Edom with celebration. 26 When God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was wrapped in a linen robe, as were all the Levites carrying the ark, the musicians, and Kenaniah the supervisor of transport and the musicians;[n] David also wore a linen ephod.[o] 28 All Israel brought up the ark of the Lord’s covenant; they were shouting, blowing trumpets, sounding cymbals, and playing stringed instruments. 29 As the ark of the Lord’s covenant entered the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked out the window. When she saw King David jumping and celebrating, she despised him.[p]
David Leads in Worship
16 They brought the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings[q] before God. 2 When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord’s name. 3 He then handed out to each Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. 4 He appointed some of the Levites to serve before the ark of the Lord, to offer prayers, songs of thanks, and hymns to the Lord God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the leader and Zechariah second-in-command, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. They were to play stringed instruments, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of God’s covenant.
David Thanks God
7 That day David first gave to Asaph and his colleagues this song of thanks to the Lord.
8 Give thanks to the Lord!
Call on his name!
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
9 Sing to him! Make music to him!
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
10 Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence[r] continually!
12 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,[s]
13 O children[t] of Israel, God’s[u] servant,
you descendants of Jacob, God’s[v] chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth.[w]
15 Remember[x] continually his covenantal decree,
the promise he made[y] to a thousand generations—
16 the promise[z] he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac![aa]
17 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise,[ab]
18 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
19 When they were few in number,
just a very few, and foreign residents within it,
20 they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another.[ac]
21 He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
22 saying,[ad] “Don’t touch my anointed ones!
Don’t harm my prophets!”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Announce every day[ae] how he delivers.
24 Tell the nations about his splendor,
tell[af] all the nations about his miraculous deeds.
25 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise,
he is more awesome than[ag] all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,[ah]
but the Lord made the heavens.[ai]
27 Majestic splendor emanates from him,[aj]
he is the source of strength and joy.[ak]
28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!
29 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves![al]
Bring an offering and enter his presence!
Worship the Lord in holy attire![am]
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is established, it cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be happy!
Let the nations say,[an] “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it shout!
Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!
33 Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth!
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.[ao]
35 Say this prayer:[ap] “Deliver us, O God who delivers us!
Gather us! Rescue us from the nations!
Then we will give thanks[aq] to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.”[ar]
36 May the Lord God of Israel be praised,
in the future and forevermore.[as]
Then all the people said, “We agree![at] Praise the Lord.”
The Condemnation of the Unrighteous
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people[a] who suppress the truth by their[b] unrighteousness,[c] 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them,[d] because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people[e] are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts[f] were darkened. 22 Although they claimed[g] to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings[h] or birds or four-footed animals[i] or reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over[j] in the desires of their hearts to impurity,[k] to dishonor[l] their bodies among themselves.[m] 25 They[n] exchanged the truth of God for a lie[o] and worshiped and served the creation[p] rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,[q] 27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women[r] and were inflamed in their passions[s] for one another. Men[t] committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God,[u] God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.[v] 29 They are filled[w] with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with[x] envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, covenant-breakers,[y] heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they fully know[z] God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die,[aa] they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.[ab]
Psalm 10[a]
10 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?[b]
2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed;[c]
the oppressed are trapped[d] by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.[e]
3 Yes,[f] the wicked man[g] boasts because he gets what he wants;[h]
the one who robs others[i] curses[j] and[k] rejects the Lord.[l]
4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,
“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”[m]
5 He is secure at all times.[n]
He has no regard for your commands;[o]
he disdains all his enemies.[p]
6 He says to himself,[q]
“I will never[r] be shaken,
because I experience no calamity.”[s]
7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words;[t]
his tongue injures and destroys.[u]
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;[v]
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.[w]
9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket.[x]
He lies in ambush, waiting to catch[y] the oppressed;
he catches the oppressed[z] by pulling in his net.[aa]
10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;
they are trapped in his sturdy nets.[ab]
11 He says to himself,[ac]
“God overlooks it;
he does not pay attention;
he never notices.”[ad]
12 Rise up, Lord![ae]
O God, strike him down.[af]
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why does the wicked man reject God?[ag]
He says to himself,[ah] “You[ai] will not hold me accountable.”[aj]
14 You have taken notice,[ak]
for[al] you always see[am] one who inflicts pain and suffering.[an]
The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you;[ao]
you deliver[ap] the fatherless.[aq]
15 Break the arm[ar] of the wicked and evil man.
Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds,[as]
which he thought you would not discover.[at]
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