1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36
English Standard Version
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
15 David[a] built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and (A)pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry (B)the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. 3 (C)And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord (D)to its place, which he had prepared for it. 4 And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and (E)the Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers; 8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers; 9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers; 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers. 11 Then David summoned the priests (F)Zadok and (G)Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites. (H)Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, (I)to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 (J)Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders (K)with the poles, (L)as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.
16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on (M)musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed (N)Heman the son of Joel; and of his brothers (O)Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, (P)Ethan the son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19 The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, (Q)Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to (R)Alamoth; 21 but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, (S)Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to (T)the Sheminith. 22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, should (U)blow the trumpets before the ark of God. (V)Obed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.
25 (W)So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of (X)Obed-edom with rejoicing. 26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed (Y)seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, (Z)trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on (AA)harps and lyres.
29 And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.
The Ark Placed in a Tent
16 And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside (AB)the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord 3 and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat,[b] and a cake of raisins.
4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 (AC)Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 Then on that day (AD)David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.
David's Song of Thanks
8 (AE)Oh give thanks to the Lord; (AF)call upon his name;
(AG)make known his deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
11 (AH)Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
12 (AI)Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
(AJ)his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
13 O offspring of Israel his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
(AK)his judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant (AL)that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
17 which (AM)he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 saying, (AN)“To you I will give the land of Canaan,
as your portion for an inheritance.”
19 When you were (AO)few in number,
of little account, and (AP)sojourners in it,
20 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
21 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he (AQ)rebuked kings on their account,
22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my (AR)prophets no harm!”
23 (AS)Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
25 For (AT)great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be feared (AU)above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
(AV)but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
(AW)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him!
(AX)Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;[c]
30 tremble before him, all the earth;
yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
31 (AY)Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, (AZ)“The Lord reigns!”
32 (BA)Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
35 (BB)Say also:
“Save us, O God of our salvation,
and gather and deliver us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
36 (BC)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!”
(BD)Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 15:1 Hebrew He
- 1 Chronicles 16:3 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- 1 Chronicles 16:29 Or in holy attire
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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