1 Chronicles 15; 1 Chronicles 16; 1 Chronicles 17

1 Chronicles 15

1 For his own use, David built houses in David's City. He also prepared a place for God's Covenant Box and put up a tent for it.

2 Then he said, "Only Levites should carry the Covenant Box, because they are the ones the Lord chose to carry it and to serve him forever."

3 So David summoned all the people of Israel to Jerusalem in order to bring the Covenant Box to the place he had prepared for it.

4 Next he sent for the descendants of Aaron and for the Levites.

5 From the Levite clan of Kohath came Uriel, in charge of 120 members of his clan;

6 from the clan of Merari came Asaiah, in charge of 220;

7 from the clan of Gershon, Joel, in charge of 130;

8 from the clan of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, in charge of 200;

9 from the clan of Hebron, Eliel, in charge of 80;

10 and from the clan of Uzziel, Amminadab, in charge of 112.

11 David called in the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the six Levites, Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

12 He said to the Levites, "You are the leaders of the Levite clans. Purify yourselves and your fellow Levites, so that you can bring the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.

13 Because you were not there to carry it the first time, the Lord our God punished us for not worshiping him as we should have done."

14 Then the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to move the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel.

15 The Levites carried it on poles on their shoulders, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

16 David commanded the leaders of the Levites to assign various Levites to sing and to play joyful music on harps and cymbals.

17 From the clans of singers they chose the following men to play the brass cymbals: Heman son of Joel, his relative Asaph son of Berechiah, and Ethan son of Kushaiah, of the clan of Merari. To assist them they chose the following Levites to play the high-pitched harps: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah. To play the low-pitched harps they chose the following Levites: Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Azaziah, and the Temple guards, Obed Edom and Jeiel.

22 Because of his skill in music Chenaniah was chosen to be in charge of the levitical musicians.

23 Berechiah and Elkanah, along with Obed Edom and Jehiah, were chosen as guards for the Covenant Box. The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were chosen to blow trumpets in front of the Covenant Box.

25 So King David, the leaders of Israel, and the military commanders went to the house of Obed Edom to get the Covenant Box, and they had a great celebration.

26 They sacrificed seven bulls and seven sheep, to make sure that God would help the Levites who were carrying the Covenant Box.

27 David was wearing a robe made of the finest linen, and so were the musicians, Chenaniah their leader, and the Levites who carried the Box. David also wore a linen ephod.

28 So all the Israelites accompanied the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the sound of trumpets, horns, and cymbals, and the music of harps.

29 As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and leaping for joy, and she was disgusted with him.

1 Chronicles 16

1 They took the Covenant Box to the tent which David had prepared for it and put it inside. Then they offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to God.

2 After David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord

3 and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat, and some raisins.

4 David appointed some of the Levites to lead the worship of the Lord, the God of Israel, in front of the Covenant Box, by singing and praising him.

5 Asaph was appointed leader, with Zechariah as his assistant. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel were to play harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals,

6 and two priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, were to blow trumpets regularly in front of the Covenant Box.

7 It was then that David first gave Asaph and the other Levites the responsibility for singing praises to the Lord.

8 Give thanks to the Lord, proclaim his greatness; tell the nations what he has done.

9 Sing praise to the Lord; tell the wonderful things he has done.

10 Be glad that we belong to him; let all who worship him rejoice!

11 Go to the Lord for help, and worship him continually.

12 You descendants of Jacob, God's servant, descendants of Israel, whom God chose, remember the miracles that God performed and the judgments that he gave.

14 The Lord is our God; his commands are for all the world.

15 Never forget God's covenant, which he made to last forever,

16 the covenant he made with Abraham, the promise he made to Isaac.

17 The Lord made a covenant with Jacob, one that will last forever.

18 "I will give you the land of Canaan," he said. "It will be your own possession."

19 God's people were few in number, strangers in the land of Canaan.

20 They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to another.

21 But God let no one oppress them; to protect them, he warned the kings:

22 "Don't harm my chosen servants; do not touch my prophets."

23 Sing to the Lord, all the world! Proclaim every day the good news that he has saved us.

24 Proclaim his glory to the nations, his mighty deeds to all peoples.

25 The Lord is great and is to be highly praised; he is to be honored more than all the gods.

26 The gods of all other nations are only idols, but the Lord created the heavens.

27 Glory and majesty surround him, power and joy fill his Temple.

28 Praise the Lord, all people on earth, praise his glory and might.

29 Praise the Lord's glorious name; bring an offering and come into his Temple. Bow down before the Holy One when he appears;

30 tremble before him, all the earth! The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved.

31 Be glad, earth and sky! Tell the nations that the Lord is king.

32 Roar, sea, and every creature in you; be glad, fields, and everything in you!

33 The trees in the woods will shout for joy when the Lord comes to rule the earth.

34 Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal.

35 Say to him, "Save us, O God our Savior; gather us together; rescue us from the nations, so that we may be thankful and praise your holy name."

36 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! Praise him now and forever! Then all the people said, "Amen," and praised the Lord.

37 King David put Asaph and the other Levites in permanent charge of the worship that was held at the place where the Covenant Box was kept. They were to perform their duties there day by day.

38 Obed Edom son of Jeduthun and sixty-eight men of his clan were to assist them. Hosah and Obed Edom were in charge of guarding the gates.

39 Zadok the priest and his fellow priests, however, were in charge of the worship of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon.

40 Every morning and evening they were to burn sacrifices whole on the altar in accordance with what was written in the Law which the Lord gave to Israel.

41 There with them were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who were specifically chosen to sing praises to the Lord for his eternal love.

42 Heman and Jeduthun also had charge of the trumpets and cymbals and the other instruments which were played when the songs of praise were sung. The members of Jeduthun's clan were in charge of guarding the gates.

43 Then everyone went home, and David went home to spend some time with his family.

1 Chronicles 17

1 King David was now living in his palace. One day he sent for the prophet Nathan and said to him, "Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but the Lord's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!"

2 Nathan answered, "Do whatever you have in mind, because God is with you."

3 But that night God said to Nathan,

4 "Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, "You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in.

5 From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now I have never lived in a temple; I have always lived in tents and moved from place to place.

6 In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.'

7 "So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, "I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel.

8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world.

9 I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to defeat all your enemies and to give you descendants.

11 When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong.

12 He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever.

13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king.

14 I will put him in charge of my people and my kingdom forever. His dynasty will never end.' "

15 Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.

16 Then King David went into the Tent of the Lord's presence, sat down, and prayed, "I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, Lord God, nor is my family.

17 Yet now you are doing even more; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come, and you, Lord God, are already treating me like someone great.

18 What more can I say to you! You know me well, and yet you honor me, your servant.

19 It was your will and purpose to do this for me and to show me my future greatness.

20 Lord, there is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God.

21 There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for them spread your fame throughout the world. You rescued your people from Egypt and drove out other nations as your people advanced.

22 You have made Israel your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

23 "And now, O Lord, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would.

24 Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, "The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.' And you will preserve my dynasty for all time.

25 I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, my God, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings.

26 You, Lord, are God, and you have made this wonderful promise to me.

27 I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Lord, have blessed them, and your blessing will rest on them forever."