Old/New Testament
Chapter 16
1 They brought the Ark of God and placed it inside of the tent that David had pitched for it. They offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. 2 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 He gave each man and each woman in Israel one loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.
The Levite Ministers. 4 He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 They were Asaph, the leader, Zechariah, the next in charge, and Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-edom. They were to play upon the lyres and the harps while Asaph was to play upon the cymbals. 6 Benaiah and Jahaziel were the priests who normally blew the trumpets before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.[a]
7 On that day David first gave Asaph and his brethren this psalm of thanks to the Lord:
8 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;
make his deeds known among the nations.
9 Sing to him, praise him with song;
speak of all his wondrous deeds.
10 Glory in his holy name,
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Seek the Lord and his strength,
seek his face continually.
12 Remember the marvels he has done,
his wondrous deeds and the judgments of his mouth.
13 O descendants of Israel, his servant,
O children of Jacob, his chosen one.
14 He is the Lord, our God,
his judgments extend to all the earth.
15 He always remembers his covenant,
the word he has commanded for a thousand generations,
16 which he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an eternal covenant,
18 saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan;
it will be your allotted inheritance.”
19 When there were only a few of them,
few indeed, with foreigners among them,
20 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people.
21 He did not let anyone oppress them,
for their sake he rebuked kings,
22 “Do not touch my anointed;
do no harm to my prophets.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth,
proclaim his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
among all nations, his marvelous deeds.
25 For great is the Lord, greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared more than all the other gods.
26 All the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Glory and honor are before him,
strength and joy in his dwelling place.
28 Give to the Lord, O families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Give to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bring an offering and come before him;
worship the Lord in holy attire.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth;
the world is firmly established, not to be moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice;
let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
32 Let the sea roar, and whatever fills it;
let the fields rejoice, and all that is in them.
33 The trees of the forest will sing out before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his mercy endures forever.
35 Shout forth, “Save us, O Lord, our savior;
gather us in and deliver us from the nations.
Then we will give thanks to your holy name,
we will glory in your praise.”
36 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
forever and ever.
All the people said, “Amen! Praise the Lord!”
37 He left Asaph and his brethren there before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to minister before the Ark and to do each day’s required work. 38 He also left Obed-edom and sixty-eight of his brethren with them. Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were the gatekeepers.
39 He also left Zadok, the priest, and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon. 40 He was to offer the regular burnt offerings upon the altar of burnt offerings, each morning and each evening, just as it is written in the law of the Lord which he gave to Israel. 41 With him there were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who had been chosen, who had been designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy endures forever. 42 Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for playing the trumpets and the cymbals as well as the other sacred musical instruments. The sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers.
43 Then all the people departed, each returning home. David, too, went home to bless his household.
Chapter 17[c]
Nathan’s Oracle. 1 After David had moved into his palace, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I live in a house of cedar, but the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord lives under awnings.” 2 Nathan said to David, “Do whatever you want to, for the Lord is with you.”
3 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and tell David my servant: Thus says the Lord, ‘You are not to build a house in which I will live. 5 I have not dwelt in a house from the time that I brought Israel up from out of Egypt up to the present day. I have traveled around from one tent site to another. 6 In the whole time that I have traveled around with Israel, have I ever said to any of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people, Why have you not built me a house made from cedar wood?’
7 “Now, therefore, tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I took you from the sheepfold, from following after the sheep, to be the ruler over my people Israel. 8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut down all of your enemies from before you. I have made your name famous, as famous as the great men of the earth. 9 I will establish a dwelling place for my people Israel. I will plant them so that they might dwell in their own place. They will not have to move about anymore, nor shall the children of wickedness oppress them as they have done in the past, 10 from the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. I will humble all of your enemies.
“ ‘Furthermore, it is the Lord who will build you a house. 11 When your days have been fulfilled and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, one of your sons,[d] and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will not withdraw my mercy from him, as I took it away from the one who preceded you.[e] 14 I will have him stand firm in my house forever, and his throne will be established forever.’ ”
15 Nathan reported this entire vision and all of these words to David.
16 David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving. King David then went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my household that you have brought me to this point? 17 And as if there were a small thing in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of your servant’s house. You have looked upon me, treating me as one who is highly exalted, O Lord God. 18 What else could David say to you for honoring your servant, for you know your servant well? 19 O Lord, you have done this great thing and revealed all these great things for the sake of your servant and because you have willed it. 20 There is no one like you, O Lord, and there is no other God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation upon the earth whose God went forth to redeem his own people, thus making a great name for yourself, and who drove out nations with great wonders from before your people whom you redeemed out of Egypt. 22 You have granted that your people, Israel, will be your own people forever, and you, O Lord, will be their God.
23 “O Lord, let the things that you have spoken concerning your servant and his household now be established forever, even as you have promised. 24 As it is established, so will your name be forever great. It will be said, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, the God of Israel.’ Let the household of David, your servant, be established before you forever. 25 You, O God, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house. This is why your servant has found it in his heart to say this prayer before you. 26 O Lord, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 27 Therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant so that it might be before you forever, for you have blessed it, O Lord, and may it be blessed forever.”
Chapter 18
David’s Conquests.[f] 1 After this, David defeated the Philistines. He subdued Gath and took it and its dependent towns from the Philistines.
2 He struck down Moab, and the Moabites became David’s vassals and brought him tribute.
3 The king defeated Hadadezer, the king of Zobah up to Hamath when he went forth to establish his power along the Euphrates River. 4 David took one thousand chariots from him, as well as seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David hamstrung the chariot horses, keeping one hundred chariots for himself.
5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Arameans. 6 David then stationed men in Damascus of the Arameans, and the Arameans became David’s vassals, bringing him tribute. The Lord guarded over David wherever he went.
7 David took the gold shields from Hadadezer’s servants, and he brought them to Jerusalem. 8 He also brought large quantities of bronze from Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer’s cities. Solomon used the bronze to make the sea, the pillars, and vessels.
9 When Tou, the king of Hamath, heard how David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer was at war with Tou. He brought him objects of gold, silver, and bronze. 11 King David dedicated them to the Lord along with the gold and the silver that he had taken from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and from Amalek.
12 In addition to this, Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed eighteen thousand of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He also established outposts in Edom, so that all of Edom became David’s vassals. The Lord guarded over David wherever he went.
14 David reigned over all of Israel, and he gave judgment and justice to all of his people. 15 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was the commander of the army, and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the archivist.
16 Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were the priests, and Shavsha was the scribe. 17 Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was in charge of the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David’s sons were the officials of the king.[g]
28 Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple,
“You know me,
and you also know where I am from.
Yet I have not come of my own accord,
but he who sent me is true.
You do not know him,
29 but I know him
because I am from him
and it was he who sent me.”
30 So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many in the crowd believed in him, and they said, “When the Christ comes, will he perform more signs than this man has accomplished?”
32 When the Pharisees overheard the crowd murmuring about him, the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said,
“I will remain with you
only for a short time longer,
and then I shall return
to him who sent me.
34 You will search for me,
but you will not find me,
for where I am you cannot come.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not be able to find him? Will he go abroad to the people who are dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me, but you will be unable to find me,’ and ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
37 Streams of Living Water.[a][b]On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and cried out,
“If anyone is thirsty,
let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me,
as Scripture has said,
‘Streams of living water
shall flow from within him.’ ”
39 Now he was referring here to the Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive. As yet the Spirit had not been bestowed because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 People Are Divided concerning Jesus.[c] On hearing these words, some in the crowd said, “This must truly be the Prophet.” 41 Others thought, “This is the Christ.” But still others retorted, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture assert that the Christ will be of the seed of David and come from Bethlehem, the city where David lived?” 43 As a result, the crowd was sharply divided because of him. 44 Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 Then the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” 46 The guards answered, “No one has ever spoken as this man has.” 47 Then the Pharisees said, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees come to believe in him? 49 As for this crowd, they do not know the Law—they are cursed.”
50 One of them, Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus, said to them, 51 “Does our Law allow us to pass judgment on someone without first giving him a hearing to ascertain what he is doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you too a Galilean? Look it up, and you will find that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”
Chapter 8
Jesus, Savior of Sinners
A Woman Caught in Adultery.[d] [7:53Then each of them returned home.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.