Old/New Testament
16 The Levites brought God’s Holy Box and put it inside the tent David had set up for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God. 2 After David had finished giving the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he used the Lord’s name to bless the people. 3 Then he gave a loaf of bread, some dates, and raisins to every Israelite man and woman.
4 Then David chose some of the Levites to serve before the Lord’s Holy Box. They had the job of celebrating and giving thanks and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the leader of the first group. His group played the cymbals. Zechariah was the leader of the second group. The other Levites were Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel. These men played the lyres and harps. 6 Benaiah and Jahaziel were the priests who always blew the trumpets before the Box of God’s Agreement. 7 This was when David first gave Asaph and his brothers the job of singing praises to the Lord.
David’s Song of Thanks
8 Give thanks to the Lord and call out to him!
Tell the nations what he has done!
9 Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about the amazing things he has done.
10 Be proud of his holy name.
You followers of the Lord, be happy!
11 Depend on the Lord for strength.
Always go to him for help.
12 Remember the amazing things he has done.
Remember his miracles and his fair decisions.
13 The people of Israel are his servants.
The descendants of Jacob are his chosen people.
14 The Lord is our God.
He rules the whole world.
15 Remember his agreement forever,
the promise he gave that will never end.
16 Remember the agreement he made with Abraham
Remember his promise to Isaac.
17 He gave it as a law for Jacob,
as an agreement with Israel that will last forever.
18 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It will be your very own.”
19 At the time God said this, there were only a few of his people,
and they were strangers there.
20 They traveled around from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
21 But the Lord did not let anyone mistreat them.
He warned kings not to harm them.
22 He said, “Don’t hurt my chosen people.
Don’t hurt my prophets.”
23 Let the whole world sing to the Lord!
Tell the good news every day about how he saves us.
24 Tell all the nations how wonderful he is!
Tell people everywhere about the amazing things he does.
25 The Lord is great and worthy of praise.
He is more awesome than any of the “gods.”
26 All the “gods” in other nations are nothing but statues,
but the Lord made the heavens!
27 He lives in the presence of glory and honor.
His Temple is a place of power and joy.
28 Praise the Lord, all people of every nation;
praise the Lord’s glory and power!
29 Give the Lord praise worthy of his glory.
Come into his presence with your offerings.
Worship the Lord in all his holy beauty.
30 Everyone on earth should tremble before him!
But the world stands firm and cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be happy!
Let people everywhere say, “The Lord rules!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it shout for joy!
Let the fields and everything in them be happy!
33 The trees of the forest will sing for joy when they see the Lord,
because he is coming to rule the world.
34 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love will last forever.
35 Say to him,
“Save us, God our Savior.
Bring us back together,
and save us from the other nations.
Then we will give thanks to your holy name
and joyfully praise you.”
36 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
He always was and will always be worthy of praise!
All the people praised the Lord and said “Amen!”
37 Then David left Asaph and his brothers there in front of the Box of the Lord’s Agreement. David left them there to serve in front of it every day. 38 He also left Obed Edom and 68 other Levites to serve with Asaph and his brothers. Obed Edom and Hosah were guards. Obed Edom was Jeduthun’s son.
39 David left Zadok the priest and the other priests who served with him in front of the Lord’s Tent[a] at the high place in Gibeon. 40 Every morning and evening Zadok and the other priests offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offerings. They did this to follow the rules written in the law of the Lord, which he had given Israel. 41 Heman, Jeduthun, and all the other Levites were chosen by name to praise the Lord, singing, “His faithful love will last forever.” 42 Heman and Jeduthun were with them. They had the job of blowing the trumpets and playing cymbals. They also had the job of playing other musical instruments when songs were sung to God. Jeduthun’s sons guarded the gates.
43 After the celebration, all the people left and went home. David also went home to bless his family.
God’s Promise to David
17 After David had moved into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in this nice palace made of cedar, but the Box of the Lord’s Agreement sits in a tent.”
2 Nathan answered David, “You may do what you want to do. God is with you.”
3 But that night the word of God came to Nathan. 4 God said,
“Go and tell this to my servant David: The Lord says, ‘David, you are not the one to build a house for me to live in. 5-6 Since the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until now, I have not lived in a house. I have moved around in a tent. I chose people to be special leaders for the Israelites. They were like shepherds for my people. While I was going around in Israel to different places, I never said to any of them: Why haven’t you built a house of cedar wood for me?’
7 “Now, tell this to my servant David: The Lord All-Powerful says, ‘I took you from the fields and from taking care of the sheep. I made you king of my people Israel. 8 I have been with you everywhere you went. I went ahead of you and I killed your enemies. Now I will make you one of the most famous men on earth. 9 I am giving this place to my people Israel. They will plant their trees, and they will sit in peace under those trees. They will not be bothered anymore. Evil people will not hurt them as they did at first. 10 Those bad things happened, but I chose leaders to care for my people Israel. And I will also defeat all your enemies.
“‘I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you.[b] 11 When you die, and you join your ancestors, then I will let your own son be the new king. The new king will be one of your sons, and I will make his kingdom strong. 12 Your son will build a house for me. I will make your son’s family rule forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. Saul was the king before you, and I took away my support from Saul. But I will never stop loving your son. 14 I will put him in charge of my house and kingdom forever. His rule will continue forever!’”
15 Nathan told David about the vision and everything God had said.
David’s Prayer
16 Then King David went to the Holy Tent and sat before the Lord. David said,
“Lord God, you have done so much for me and my family. And I don’t understand why. 17 Besides all these things, God, you let me know what will happen to my family in the future. Lord God, you have treated me like a very important man. 18 What more can I say? You have done so much for me. And I am only your servant. You know that. 19 Lord, you have done this wonderful thing for me and because you wanted to. 20 There is no one like you, Lord. There is no God except you. We have never heard of any god doing wonderful things like those! 21 Is there any other nation like Israel? No, Israel is the only nation on earth that you have done these wonderful things for. You took us out of Egypt and you made us free. You made yourself famous. You went in front of your people, and forced other people to leave their land for us. 22 You took Israel to be your people forever, and you, Lord, became their God!
23 “Lord, you made this promise to me and my family. Now, keep your promise forever. Do what you said you would. 24 Keep your promise so that people will honor your name forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord All-Powerful is Israel’s God!’ I am your servant. Please let my family be strong and continue to serve you.
25 “My God, you spoke to me, your servant. You made it clear that you would make my family a family of kings. That is why I am being so bold—that is why I am asking you to do these things. 26 Lord, you are God, and you yourself promised to do these good things for me. 27 You have been kind enough to bless my family. You were kind enough to promise that my family will serve you forever. Lord, you yourself blessed my family, so my family really will be blessed forever.”
David Wins Over Different Nations
18 Later, David attacked the Philistines and defeated them. He took the town of Gath and the other small towns around it from the Philistines.
2 Then David defeated the country of Moab. The Moabites became David’s servants and brought tribute to him.
3 David also fought against Hadadezer’s army. Hadadezer was the king of Zobah. David fought against that army all the way to the town of Hamath. David did this when he went to set up a monument for himself at the Euphrates River.[c] 4 David took 1000 chariots, 7000 chariot drivers, and 20,000 soldiers from Hadadezer. David also crippled most of Hadadezer’s horses that were used for pulling chariots. But David saved enough horses to pull 100 chariots.
5 The Arameans from the city of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah. But David defeated and killed 22,000 Aramean soldiers. 6 Then David put fortresses in the city of Damascus in Aram. The Arameans became David’s servants and brought tribute to him. So the Lord gave victory to David everywhere he went.
7 David took the gold shields from Hadadezer’s army leaders and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 David also took much bronze from the towns of Tebah and Cun. These towns belonged to Hadadezer. Later, Solomon used this bronze to make the bronze tank,[d] the bronze columns, and other things made from bronze for the Temple.
9 Tou was king of the city of Hamath. Hadadezer was the king of Zobah. Tou heard that David had defeated all of Hadadezer’s army. 10 So Tou sent his son Hadoram to King David to ask for peace and to bless him. He did this because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. Hadadezer had been at war with Tou before. Hadoram gave David all kinds of things made of gold, silver, and bronze. 11 King David made these things holy and gave them to the Lord. David did the same thing with all the silver and gold he had gotten from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalekites.
12 Abishai son of Zeruiah killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 Abishai also put fortresses in Edom and all the Edomites became David’s servants. The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.
David’s Important Officials
14 David was king over all Israel. He did what was right and fair for everyone. 15 Joab son of Zeruiah was the commander of David’s army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud wrote about the things David did. 16 Zadok and Abimelech were the priests. Zadok was Ahitub’s son, and Abimelech was Abiathar’s son. Shavsha was the scribe. 17 Benaiah was responsible for leading the Kerethites and Pelethites.[e] Benaiah was Jehoiada’s son. And David’s sons were important officials. They served at King David’s side.
28 Jesus was still teaching in the Temple area when he said loudly, “Do you really know me and where I am from? I am here, but not by my own decision. I was sent by one who is very real. But you don’t know him. 29 I know him because I am from him. He is the one who sent me.”
30 When Jesus said this, the people tried to grab him. But no one was able even to touch him, because the right time for him had not yet come. 31 But many of the people believed in Jesus. They said, “We are waiting for the Messiah to come. When he comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”
The Jewish Leaders Try to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard what the people were saying about Jesus. So the leading priests and the Pharisees sent some Temple police to arrest him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer. Then I will go back to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me. And you cannot come where I am.”
35 These Jews said to each other, “Where will this man go that we cannot find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live? Will he teach the Greek people there? 36 He says, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me.’ He also says, ‘You cannot come where I am.’ What does this mean?”
Jesus Talks About the Holy Spirit
37 The last day of the festival came. It was the most important day. On that day Jesus stood up and said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty may come to me and drink. 38 If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from their heart. That is what the Scriptures say.” 39 Jesus was talking about the Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given to people, because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.
The People Argue About Jesus
40 When the people heard the things that Jesus said, some of them said, “This man really is the Prophet.[a]”
41 Other people said, “He is the Messiah.”
And others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee. 42 The Scriptures say that the Messiah will come from the family of David. And they say that he will come from Bethlehem, the town where David lived.” 43 So the people did not agree with each other about Jesus. 44 Some of the people wanted to arrest him. But no one tried to do it.
The Jewish Leaders Refuse to Believe
45 The Temple police went back to the leading priests and the Pharisees. The priests and the Pharisees asked, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”
46 The Temple police answered, “We have never heard anyone say such amazing things!”
47 The Pharisees answered, “So he has fooled you too! 48 You don’t see any of the leaders or any of us Pharisees believing in him, do you? 49 But those people out there know nothing about the law. They are under God’s curse!”
50 But Nicodemus was there in that group. He was the one who had gone to see Jesus before.[b] He said, 51 “Our law will not let us judge anyone without first hearing them and finding out what they have done.”
52 The Jewish leaders answered, “You must be from Galilee too! Study the Scriptures. You will find nothing about a prophet[c] coming from Galilee.”
A Woman Caught in Adultery
53 Then they all left and went home.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International