Old/New Testament
16 So they brought the Ark of God into the special tent that David had prepared for it, and the leaders of Israel sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 At the conclusion of these offerings David blessed the people in the name of the Lord; 3 then he gave every person present[a] (men and women alike) a loaf of bread, some wine, and a cake of raisins.
4 He appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark by giving constant praise and thanks to the Lord God of Israel and by asking for his blessings upon his people. These are the names of those given this assignment: 5 Asaph, the leader of this detail, sounded the cymbals. His associates were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel; they played the harps and zithers. 6 The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel played their trumpets regularly before the Ark.
7 At that time David began the custom of using choirs in the Tabernacle to sing thanksgiving to the Lord. Asaph was the director of this choral group of priests.
8 “Oh, give thanks to the Lord and pray to him,” they sang.
“Tell the peoples of the world
About his mighty doings.
9 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises
And tell of his marvelous works.
10 Glory in his holy name;
Let all rejoice who seek the Lord.
11 Seek the Lord; yes, seek his strength
And seek his face untiringly.
12-13 O descendants of his servant Abraham,
O chosen sons of Jacob,
Remember his mighty miracles
And his marvelous miracles
And his authority:
14 He is the Lord our God!
His authority is seen throughout the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever—
The words he commanded
To a thousand generations:
16 His agreement with Abraham,
And his oath to Isaac,
17 And his confirmation to Jacob.
He promised Israel
With an everlasting promise:
18 ‘I will give you the land of Canaan
As your inheritance.’
19 When Israel was few in number—oh, so few—
And merely strangers in the Promised Land;
20 When they wandered from country to country,
From one kingdom to another—
21 God didn’t let anyone harm them.
Even kings were killed who sought to hurt them.
22 ‘Don’t harm my chosen people,’ he declared.
‘These are my prophets—touch them not.’
23 Sing to the Lord, O Earth,
Declare each day that he is the one who saves!
24 Show his glory to the nations!
Tell everyone about his miracles.
25 For the Lord is great and should be highly praised;
He is to be held in awe above all gods.
26 The other so-called gods are demons,
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Majesty and honor march before him,
Strength and gladness walk beside him.
28 O people of all nations of the earth,
Ascribe great strength and glory to his name!
29 Yes, ascribe to the Lord
The glory due his name!
Bring an offering and come before him;
Worship the Lord when clothed with holiness!
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world stands unmoved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice;
Let all the nations say, ‘It is the Lord who reigns.’
32 Let the vast seas roar,
Let the countryside and everything in it rejoice!
33 Let the trees in the woods sing for joy before the Lord,
For he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
His love and his kindness go on forever.
35 Cry out to him, ‘Oh, save us, God of our salvation;
Bring us safely back from among the nations.
Then we will thank your holy name,
And triumph in your praise.’
36 Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel,
Forever and forevermore.”
And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.
37 David arranged for Asaph and his fellow Levites to minister regularly at the Tabernacle,[b] doing each day whatever needed to be done. 38 This group included Obed-edom (the son of Jeduthun), Hosah, and sixty-eight of their colleagues as guards.
39 Meanwhile the old Tabernacle of the Lord on the hill of Gibeon continued to be active. David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests to minister to the Lord there. 40 They sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord each morning and evening upon the altar set aside for that purpose, just as the Lord had commanded Israel. 41 David also appointed Heman, Jeduthun, and several others who were chosen by name to give thanks to the Lord for his constant love and mercy. 42 They used their trumpets and cymbals to accompany the singers with loud praises to God. And Jeduthun’s sons were appointed as guards.
43 At last the celebration ended and the people returned to their homes, and David returned to bless his own household.
17 After David had been living in his new palace for some time he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I’m living here in a cedar-paneled home while the Ark of the Covenant of God is out there in a tent!”
2 And Nathan replied, “Carry out your plan in every detail, for it is the will of the Lord.”
3 But that same night God said to Nathan, 4 “Go and give my servant David this message: ‘You are not to build my temple! 5 I’ve gone from tent to tent as my home from the time I brought Israel out of Egypt. 6 In all that time I never suggested to any of the leaders of Israel—the shepherds I appointed to care for my people—that they should build me a cedar-lined temple.’
7 “Tell my servant David, ‘The Lord of heaven says to you, I took you from being a shepherd and made you the king of my people. 8 And I have been with you everywhere you’ve gone; I have destroyed your enemies, and I will make your name as great as the greatest of the earth. 9 And I will give a permanent home to my people Israel and will plant them in their land. They will not be disturbed again; the wicked nations won’t conquer them as they did before 10 when the judges ruled them. I will subdue all of your enemies. And I now declare that I will cause your descendants to be kings of Israel just as you are.
11 “‘When your time here on earth is over and you die, I will place one of your sons upon your throne; and I will make his kingdom strong. 12 He is the one who shall build me a temple, and I will establish his royal line of descent forever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son; I will never remove my mercy and love from him as I did from Saul. 14 I will place him over my people and over the kingdom of Israel forever—and his descendants will always be kings.’”
15 So Nathan told King David everything the Lord had said.
16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family that you have given me all this? 17 For all the great things you have already done for me are nothing in comparison to what you have promised to do in the future! For now, O Lord God, you are speaking of future generations of my children being kings too! You speak as though I were someone very great. 18 What else can I say? You know that I am but a dog, yet you have decided to honor me! 19 O Lord, you have given me these wonderful promises just because you want to be kind to me, because of your own great heart. 20 O Lord, there is no one like you—there is no other God. In fact, we have never even heard of another god like you!
21 “And what other nation in all the earth is like Israel? You have made a unique nation and have redeemed it from Egypt so that the people could be your people. And you made a great name for yourself when you did glorious miracles in driving out the nations from before your people. 22 You have declared that your people Israel belong to you forever, and you have become their God.
23 “And now I accept your promise, Lord, that I and my children will always rule this nation. 24 And may this bring eternal honor to your name as everyone realizes that you always do what you say. They will exclaim, ‘The Lord of heaven is indeed the God of Israel!’ And Israel shall always be ruled by my children and their posterity! 25 Now I have the courage to pray to you, for you have revealed this to me. 26 God himself has promised this good thing to me! 27 May this blessing rest upon my children forever, for when you grant a blessing, Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”
18 David finally subdued the Philistines and conquered Gath and its surrounding towns. 2 He also conquered Moab and required its people to send him a large sum of money every year. 3 He conquered the dominion of King Hadadezer of Zobah (as far as Hamath) at the time Hadadezer went to tighten his grip along the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand troops. He crippled all the chariot teams except a hundred that he kept for his own use.
5 When the Syrians arrived from Damascus to help King Hadadezer, David killed twenty-two thousand of them; 6 then he placed a garrison of his troops in Damascus, the Syrian capital. So the Syrians, too, were forced to send him large amounts of money every year. And the Lord gave David victory everywhere he went. 7 He brought the gold shields of King Hadadezer’s officers to Jerusalem, 8 as well as a great amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s cities of Tibhath and Cun. (King Solomon later melted the bronze and used it for the Temple. He molded it into the bronze tank, the pillars, and the instruments used in offering sacrifices on the altar.)
9 When King Tou of Hamath learned that King David had destroyed Hadadezer’s army, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to greet and congratulate King David on his success and to present him with many gifts of gold, silver, and bronze, seeking an alliance. For Hadadezer and Tou had been enemies and there had been many wars between them. 11 King David dedicated these gifts to the Lord, as he did the silver and gold he took from the nations of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, and the Philistines.
12 Abishai (son of Zeruiah) then destroyed eighteen thousand Edomites in Salt Valley. 13 He put garrisons in Edom and forced the Edomites to pay large sums of money annually to David. This is just another example of how the Lord gave David victory after victory. 14 David reigned over all of Israel and was a just ruler.
15 Joab (son of Zeruiah) was commander-in-chief of the army; Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud) was the historian; 16 Zadok (son of Ahitub) and Ahimelech (son of Abiathar) were the head priests; Shavsha was the king’s special assistant;[c] 17 Benaiah (son of Jehoiada) was in charge of the king’s bodyguard—the Cherethites and Pelethites—and David’s sons were his chief aides.
28 So Jesus, in a sermon in the Temple, called out, “Yes, you know me and where I was born and raised, but I am the representative of one you don’t know, and he is Truth. 29 I know him because I was with him, and he sent me to you.”
30 Then the Jewish leaders sought to arrest him; but no hand was laid on him, for God’s time had not yet come.
31 Many among the crowds at the Temple believed on him. “After all,” they said, “what miracles do you expect the Messiah to do that this man hasn’t done?”
32 When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were in this mood, they and the chief priests sent officers to arrest Jesus. 33 But Jesus told them, “Not yet![a] I am to be here a little longer. Then I shall return to the one who sent me. 34 You will search for me but not find me. And you won’t be able to come where I am!”
35 The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Maybe he is thinking of leaving the country and going as a missionary among the Jews in other lands, or maybe even to the Gentiles! 36 What does he mean about our looking for him and not being able to find him, and, ‘You won’t be able to come where I am’?”
37 On the last day, the climax of the holidays, Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me.” 39 (He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him; but the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet returned to his glory in heaven.)
40 When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “This man surely is the prophet who will come just before the Messiah.” 41-42 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where David was born.” 43 So the crowd was divided about him. 44 And some wanted him arrested, but no one touched him.
45 The Temple police who had been sent to arrest him returned to the chief priests and Pharisees. “Why didn’t you bring him in?” they demanded.
46 “He says such wonderful things!” they mumbled. “We’ve never heard anything like it.”
47 “So you also have been led astray?” the Pharisees mocked. 48 “Is there a single one of us Jewish rulers or Pharisees who believes he is the Messiah? 49 These stupid crowds do, yes; but what do they know about it? A curse upon them anyway!”[b]
50 Then Nicodemus spoke up. (Remember him? He was the Jewish leader who came secretly to interview Jesus.) 51 “Is it legal to convict a man before he is even tried?” he asked.
52 They replied, “Are you a wretched Galilean too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophets will come from Galilee!”
53 [c] Then the meeting broke up and everybody went home.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.