1 Chronicles 15–16

THE ARK COMES TO JERUSALEM

15David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.^{s 2}Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.”^t

³David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem^u to bring the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it.^{v 4}Then he gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

⁵From the Kohathites, Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives; ⁶from the Merarites, Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives; ⁷from the Gershomites,^A Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives; ⁸from the Elizaphanites, Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives; ⁹from the Hebronites, Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives; ¹⁰from the Uzzielites, Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.

¹¹David summoned the priests Zadok^a and Abiathar^b and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. ¹²He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves^c so that you may bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.^{d 13}For the Lord our God burst out in anger against us because you Levites were not with us the first time, for we didn’t inquire of him about the proper procedures.”^{e 14}So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁵Then the Levites carried the ark of God the way Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord: on their shoulders with the poles.^f

¹⁶Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments—harps, lyres, and cymbals.^{g 17}So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph son of Berechiah; and from their relatives the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah. ¹⁸With them were their relatives second in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel,^B Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. ¹⁹The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; ²⁰Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth ²¹and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to the Sheminith. ²²Chenaniah, the leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music because he was skillful. ²³Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. ²⁴The priests, Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, were to blow trumpets^h before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also to be gatekeepers for the ark.

²⁵David,ⁱ the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went with rejoicing to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom.^{j 26}Because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with God’s help, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.^k

²⁷Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts, the sound of the trumpet, trumpets, and cymbals, and the playing of harps and lyres. ²⁹As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping^A and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.

16They^l brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it.^m Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God’s presence. ²When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. ³Then he distributed to each and every Israelite, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.

⁴David appointed some of the Levites to be ministers before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate the Lord God of Israel, and to give thanks and praise to him. ⁵Asaph was the chief and Zechariah was second to him. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel played the harps and lyres, while Asaph sounded the cymbals ⁶and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

DAVID’S PSALM OF THANKSGIVING

⁷On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the Lord by Asaph and his relatives:

⁸Give thanksⁿ to the Lord; call on his name;

proclaim his deeds among the peoples.^a

⁹Sing to him; sing praise to him;

tell about all his wondrous works!

¹⁰Boast in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

¹¹Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his face always.^b

¹²Remember the wondrous works he has done,^c

his wonders, and the judgments he has pronounced,^Bd

¹³you offspring of Israel his servant,

Jacob’s descendants—his chosen ones.

¹⁴He is the Lord our God;

his judgments govern the whole earth.^e

¹⁵Remember his covenant forever—

the promise he ordained for a thousand generations,

¹⁶the covenant he made with Abraham,

swore^A to Isaac,^f

¹⁷and confirmed to Jacob as a decree,

and to Israel as a permanent covenant:^g

¹⁸“I will give the land of Canaan to you

as your inherited portion.”^h

¹⁹When they^B were few in number,

very few indeed,ⁱ and resident aliens in Canaan

²⁰wandering from nation to nation

and from one kingdom to another,

²¹he allowed no one to oppress them;

he rebuked kings on their behalf:^j

²²“Do not touch my anointed ones

or harm my prophets.”^k

²³Let the whole earth sing^l to the Lord.

Proclaim his salvation from day to day.

²⁴Declare his glory among the nations,

his wondrous works among all peoples.

²⁵For the Lord is great and highly praised;^m

he is feared above all gods.ⁿ

²⁶For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,^o

but the Lord made the heavens.^p

²⁷Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy are in his place.

²⁸Ascribe to the Lord, families of the peoples,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

²⁹Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;

bring an offering and come before him.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;^q

³⁰let the whole earth tremble^r before him.

The world is firmly established;

it cannot be shaken.

³¹Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice,^s

and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”

³²Let the sea and all that fills it resound;

let the fields and everything in them exult.^t

³³Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord,

for he is coming to judge the earth.

³⁴Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his faithful love endures forever.^u

³⁵And say,^v “Save us, God of our salvation;

gather us and rescue us from the nations

so that we may give thanks to your holy name

and rejoice in your praise.

³⁶Blessed be the Lord God of Israel^w

from everlasting to everlasting.”

Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

³⁷So David left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the Lord’s covenant to minister regularly^x before the ark according to the daily requirements.^{y 38}He assigned Obed-edom^z and his^A sixty-eight relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah^aa were to be gatekeepers. ³⁹David left the priest Zadok and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon^{a 40}to offer burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening, to the Lord on the altar of burnt offerings and to do everything that was written in the law of the Lord, which he had commanded Israel to keep.^{b 41}With them were Heman,^c Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen and designated by name^d to give thanks to the Lord—for his faithful love endures forever.^{e 42}Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals to play and musical instruments of God.^f Jeduthun’s sons were at the city gate.

⁴³Then all the people went home, and David returned home to bless his household.^g