Old/New Testament
Serving God in Front of the Ark
16 The ark of God was carried into Jerusalem. It was put in the tent David had set up for it. The priests brought burnt offerings and friendship offerings to God. 2 After David finished sacrificing those offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 He gave to each Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread. He also gave each one a date cake and a raisin cake.
4 He appointed some of the Levites to serve in front of the ark of the Lord. David wanted them to give honor, thanks and praise to the Lord. He is the God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the leader of those Levites. Zechariah was next in rank. Then came Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They played the lyres and harps. Asaph played the cymbals. 6 Benaiah and Jahaziel, the priests, blew the trumpets. They blew them at regular times in front of the ark of the covenant of God.
7 That day was the first time David appointed Asaph and his helpers. He appointed them to give praise to the Lord with these words.
8 Give praise to the Lord. Make his name known.
Tell the nations what he has done.
9 Sing to him. Sing praise to him.
Tell about all the wonderful things he has done.
10 Honor him, because his name is holy.
Let the hearts of those who trust in the Lord be glad.
11 Look to the Lord and to his strength.
Always look to him.
12 Remember the wonderful things he has done.
Remember his miracles and how he judged our enemies.
13 Remember, you his servants, the children of Israel.
Remember, you people of Jacob. Remember, you who are chosen by God.
14 He is the Lord our God.
He judges the whole earth.
15 He will keep his covenant forever.
He will keep his promise for all time to come.
16 He will keep the covenant he made with Abraham.
He will keep the promise he made to Isaac.
17 He made it stand as a law for Jacob.
He made it stand as a covenant for Israel. It will last forever.
18 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It will belong to you.”
19 At first there weren’t very many of God’s people.
There were only a few. And they were strangers in the land.
20 They wandered from nation to nation.
They wandered from one kingdom to another.
21 But God didn’t allow anyone to treat them badly.
To keep them safe, he gave a command to kings.
22 He said to them, “Do not touch my anointed ones.
Do not harm my prophets.”
23 All you people of the earth, sing to the Lord.
Day after day tell about how he saves us.
24 Tell the nations about his glory.
Tell all people about the wonderful things he has done.
25 The Lord is great. He is really worthy of praise.
People should have respect for him as the greatest God of all.
26 All the gods of the nations are like their statues.
They can’t do anything.
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Glory and majesty are all around him.
Strength and joy are in the place where he lives.
28 Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise the Lord for his glory and strength.
29 Praise the Lord for the glory that belongs to him.
Bring an offering and come to him.
Worship the Lord because of his beauty and holiness.
30 All you people of the earth, tremble when you are with him.
The world is firmly set in place. It can’t be moved.
31 Let the heavens be filled with joy. Let the earth be glad.
Let them say among the nations, “The Lord rules!”
32 Let the ocean and everything in it roar.
Let the fields and everything in them be glad.
33 Let the trees in the forest sing with joy.
They will sing before the Lord.
He will judge the people of the world.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior.
Save us. Bring us back from among the nations.
Then we will give thanks to you, because your name is holy.
We will celebrate by praising you.”
36 Give praise to the Lord, the God of Israel,
for ever and ever.
Then all the people said, “Amen!” They also said, “Praise the Lord.”
37 David left Asaph and his helpers to serve in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. They served there at regular times. They did it as they were required to do each day. 38 David also left Obed-Edom and his 68 helpers to serve with them. Obed-Edom and Hosah guarded the gates. Obed-Edom was the son of Jeduthun.
39 David left Zadok the priest and some other priests in front of the holy tent of the Lord. It was at the high place in Gibeon. 40 David left them there to sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar every morning and evening. They did it according to everything written in the Law of the Lord. That’s the Law he had given to Israel. 41 Heman and Jeduthun were with the priests. So were the rest of those who had been chosen by name and appointed to serve. They had been chosen to give thanks to the Lord, “because his faithful love continues forever.” 42 It was the duty of Heman and Jeduthun to blow the trumpets. They also had the duty of playing the cymbals and other instruments for the sacred songs. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed at one of the gates.
43 All the people left. Everyone went home. And David returned home to bless his family.
God Makes a Promise to David
17 David moved into his palace. Then he spoke to Nathan the prophet. He said, “Here I am, living in a house that has beautiful cedar walls. But the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”
2 Nathan replied to David, “Do what you want to. God is with you.”
3 But that night a message came to Nathan from God. He said,
4 “Go and speak to my servant David. Tell him, ‘The Lord says, “You are not the one who will build me a house to live in. 5 I have not lived in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt until now. I have moved my tent from one place to another. I have moved my home from one place to another. 6 I have moved from place to place with all the Israelites. I commanded their leaders to be shepherds over my people. I never asked any of those leaders, ‘Why haven’t you built me a house that has beautiful cedar walls?’ ” ’
7 “So tell my servant David, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “I took you away from the grasslands. That is where you were taking care of your father’s sheep and goats. I appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I have been with you everywhere you have gone. I destroyed all your enemies when you were attacking them. Now I will make you famous. Your name will be just as respected as the names of the most important people on earth. 9 I will provide a place where my people Israel can live. I will plant them in the land. Then they will have a home of their own. They will not be bothered anymore. Sinful people will no longer crush them, as they did at first. 10 That is what your enemies have done ever since I appointed leaders over my people Israel. But I will bring all your enemies under your control.
“ ‘ “I tell you that I, the Lord, will build a royal house for your family. 11 Some day your life will come to an end. You will join the members of your family who have already died. Then I will give you one of your own sons to become the next king after you. I will make his kingdom secure. 12 He is the one who will build me a house. I will set up his throne. It will last forever. 13 I will be his father. And he will be my son. I took my love away from the man who ruled before you. But I will never take my love away from your son. 14 I will place him over my house and my kingdom forever. His throne will last forever.” ’ ”
15 Nathan reported to David all the words that the Lord had spoken to him.
David’s Prayer
16 Then King David went into the holy tent. He sat down in front of the Lord. He said,
“Lord God, who am I? My family isn’t important. So why have you brought me this far? 17 I would have thought that you had already done more than enough for me. But now, my God, you have spoken about my royal house. You have said what will happen to it in days to come. Lord God, you have treated me as if I were the most honored man of all.
18 “What more can I say to you for honoring me? You know all about me. 19 Lord, you have done a wonderful thing. You have given me many great promises. All of them are for my good. They are exactly what you wanted to give me.
20 “Lord, there isn’t anyone like you. There isn’t any God but you. We have heard about it with our own ears. 21 Who is like your people Israel? God, we are the one nation on earth you have saved. You have set us free for yourself. Your name has become famous. You have done great and wonderful things. You have driven out nations to make room for your people. You saved us when you set us free from Egypt. 22 You made Israel your very own people forever. Lord, you have become our God.
23 “And now, Lord, let the promise you have made to me and my royal house stand forever. Do exactly as you promised. 24 When your promise comes true, your name will be honored forever. People will say, ‘The Lord rules over all. He is the God over Israel. He is Israel’s God!’ My royal house will be made secure in your sight.
25 “My God, you have shown me that you will build me a royal house. So I can pray to you boldly. 26 You, Lord, are God! You have promised many good things to me. 27 You have been pleased to bless my royal house. Now it will continue forever in your sight. Lord, you have blessed it. And it will be blessed forever.”
David Wins Many Battles
18 While David was king of Israel, he won many battles over the Philistines. He brought them under his control. He took Gath away from the Philistines. He also captured the villages around Gath.
2 David also won the battle over the people of Moab. They were brought under his rule. They gave him the gifts he required them to bring him.
3 David fought against Hadadezer in the area of Hamath. Hadadezer was king of Zobah. He had gone to set up his monument at the Euphrates River. 4 David captured 1,000 of Hadadezer’s chariots, 7,000 chariot riders and 20,000 soldiers on foot. He cut the legs of all but 100 of the chariot horses.
5 The Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. But David struck down 22,000 of them. 6 David stationed some soldiers in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus. The people of Aram were brought under his rule. They gave him the gifts he required them to bring him. The Lord helped David win his battles wherever he went.
7 David took the gold shields carried by the officers of Hadadezer. He brought the shields to Jerusalem. 8 He took a huge amount of bronze from Tebah and Kun. Those towns belonged to Hadadezer. Later, Solomon used the bronze to make the huge bronze bowl for washing. He also used it to make the pillars and many other bronze objects for the temple.
9 Tou was king of Hamath. He heard that David had won the battle over the entire army of Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. 10 So Tou sent his son Hadoram to King David. Hadoram greeted David. He praised him because David had won the battle over Hadadezer. Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. So Hadoram brought David all kinds of things made out of gold, of silver and of bronze.
11 King David set those things apart for the Lord. He had done the same thing with the silver and gold he had taken from other nations. The nations were Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia and Amalek.
12 Abishai struck down 18,000 men of Edom in the Valley of Salt. Abishai was the son of Zeruiah. 13 Abishai stationed some soldiers in Edom. The whole nation of Edom was brought under his rule. The Lord helped David win his battles wherever he went.
David’s Officials
14 David ruled over the whole nation of Israel. He did what was fair and right for all his people.
15 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was commander over the army.
Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, kept the records.
16 Zadok, the son of Ahitub, was a priest. Ahimelek, the son of Abiathar, was also a priest.
Shavsha was the secretary.
17 Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was commander over the Kerethites and Pelethites.
And King David’s sons were the chief officials who served at his side.
28 Jesus was still teaching in the temple courtyard. He cried out, “Yes, you know me. And you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority. The one who sent me is true. You do not know him. 29 But I know him. I am from him, and he sent me.”
30 When he said this, they tried to arrest him. But no one laid a hand on him. The time for him to show who he really was had not yet come. 31 Still, many people in the crowd believed in him. They said, “How will it be when the Messiah comes? Will he do more signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering things like this about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time. Then I will go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you won’t find me. You can’t come where I am going.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man plan to go? Does he think we can’t find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks? Will he go there to teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you won’t find me’? And what did he mean when he said, ‘You can’t come where I am going’?”
37 It was the last and most important day of the feast. Jesus stood up and spoke in a loud voice. He said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Does anyone believe in me? Then, just as Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from inside them.” 39 When he said this, he meant the Holy Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit later. Up to that time, the Spirit had not been given. This was because Jesus had not yet received glory.
40 The people heard his words. Some of them said, “This man must be the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Doesn’t Scripture say that the Messiah will come from the family line of David? Doesn’t it say that he will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 So the people did not agree about who Jesus was. 44 Some wanted to arrest him. But no one laid a hand on him.
The Jewish Leaders Do Not Believe
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees. They asked the guards, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
47 “You mean he has fooled you also?” the Pharisees asked. 48 “Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob knows nothing about the law. There is a curse on them.”
50 Then Nicodemus, a Pharisee, spoke. He was the one who had gone to Jesus earlier. He asked, 51 “Does our law find a man guilty without hearing him first? Doesn’t it want to find out what he is doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Look into it. You will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
53 Then they all went home.
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