1 Chronicles 16–18

Chapter 16

So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent, which David had pitched for it: and they offered holocausts, and peace offerings before God.

²And when David had made an end of offering holocausts, and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

³And he divided to all and every one, both men and women, a loaf of bread, and a piece of roasted beef, and flour fried with oil.

⁴And he appointed Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to remember his works, and to glorify, and praise the Lord God of Israel.

⁵Asaph the chief, and next after him Zacharias: moreover Jahiel, and Semiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mathathias, and Eliab, and Banaias, and Obededom: and Jehiel over the instruments of psaltery, and harps: and Asaph sounded with cymbals:

⁶But Banaias, and Jaziel the priests, to sound the trumpet continually before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

⁷In that day David made Asaph the chief to give praise to the Lord with his brethren.

⁸Praise ye the Lord, and call upon his name: make known his doings among the nations.

⁹Sing to him, yea, sing praises to him: and relate all his wondrous works.

¹⁰Praise ye his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice, that seek the Lord.

¹¹Seek ye the Lord, and his power: seek ye his face evermore.

¹²Remember his wonderful works, which he hath done: his signs, and the judgments of his mouth.

¹³O ye seed of Israel his servants, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

¹⁴He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵Remember for ever his covenant: the word, which he commanded to a thousand generations.

¹⁶The covenant which he made with Abraham: and his oath to Isaac.

¹⁷And he appointed the same to Jacob for a precept: and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

¹⁸Saying: To thee will I give the land of Chanaan: the lot of your inheritance.

¹⁹When they were but a small number: very few and sojourners in it.

²⁰And they passed from nation to nation: and from a kingdom to another people.

²¹He suffered no man to do them wrong: and reproved kings for their sake.

²²Touch not my anointed: and do no evil to my prophets.

²³Sing ye to the Lord, all the earth: shew forth from day to day his salvation.

²⁴Declare his glory among the Gentiles: his wonders among all people.

²⁵For the Lord is great and exceedingly to be praised: and he is to be feared above all gods.

²⁶For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

²⁷Praise and magnificence are before him: strength and joy in his place.

²⁸Bring ye to the Lord, O ye families of the nations: bring ye to the Lord glory and empire.

²⁹Give to the Lord glory to his name, bring up sacrifice, and come ye in his sight: and adore the Lord in holy becomingness.

³⁰Let all the earth be moved at his presence: for he hath founded the world immoveable.

³¹Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be glad: and let them say among the nations: The Lord hath reigned.

³²Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all things that are in them.

³³Then shall the trees of the wood give praise before the Lord: because he is come to judge the earth.

³⁴Give ye glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

³⁵And say ye: Save us, O God our savior: and gather us together, and deliver us from the nations, that we may give glory to thy holy name, and may rejoice in singing thy praises.

³⁶Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity: and let all the people say Amen, and a hymn to God.

³⁷So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, Asaph and his brethren to minister in the presence of the ark continually day by day, and in their courses.

³⁸And Obededom, with his brethren sixty-eight: and Obededom the son of Idithun, and Hosa he appointed to be porters.

³⁹And Sadoc the priest, and his brethren priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place, which was in Gabaon.

⁴⁰That they should offer holocausts to the Lord upon the altar of holocausts continually, morning and evening, according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel.

⁴¹And after him Heman, and Idithun, and the rest that were chosen, every one by his name to give praise to the Lord: because his mercy endureth for ever.

⁴²And Heman and Idithun sounded the trumpet, and played on the cymbals, and all kinds of musical instruments to sing praises to God: and the sons of Idithun he made porters.

⁴³And all the people returned to their houses: and David to bless also his own house.

Chapter 17

Now when David was dwelling in his house, he said to Nathan the prophet: Behold I dwell in a house of cedar: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under skins.

²And Nathan said to David: Do all that is in thy heart: for God is with thee.

³Now that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

⁴Go, and speak to David my servant: Thus saith the Lord: Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in.

⁵For I have not remained in a house from the time that I brought up Israel, to this day: but I have been always changing places in a tabernacle, and in a tent,

⁶Abiding with all Israel. Did I ever speak to any one, of all the judges of Israel whom I charged to feed my people, saying: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?

⁷Now therefore thus shalt thou say to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I took thee from the pastures, from following the flock, that thou shouldst be ruler of my people Israel.

⁸And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast gone: and have slain all thy enemies before thee, and have made thee a name like that of one of the great ones that are renowned in the earth.

⁹And I have given a place my people Israel: they shall be planted, and shall dwell therein, and shall be moved no more, neither shall the children of iniquity waste them, as at the beginning,

¹⁰Since the days that I gave judges to my people Israel, and have humbled all thy enemies. And I declare to thee, that the Lord will build thee a house.

¹¹And when thou shalt have ended thy days to go to thy fathers, I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons: and I will establish his kingdom.

¹²He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever.

¹³I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee.

¹⁴But I will settle him in my house, and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be most firm for ever.

¹⁵According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.

¹⁶And king David came and sat before the Lord, and said: Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou shouldst give such things to me?

¹⁷But even this hath seemed little in thy sight, and therefore thou hast also spoken concerning the house of thy servant for the time to come: and hast made me remarkable above all men, O Lord God.

¹⁸What can David add more, seeing thou hast thus glorified thy servant, and known him?

¹⁹O Lord, for thy servant’s sake, according to thy own heart, thou hast shewn all this magnificence, and wouldst have all the great things to be known.

²⁰O Lord there is none like thee: and here is no other God beside thee, of all whom we have heard of with our ears.

²¹For what other nation is there upon earth like thy people Israel, whom God went to deliver, and make a people for himself, and by his greatness and terrors cast out nations before their face whom he had delivered out of Egypt?

²²And thou hast made thy people Israel to be thy own people for ever, and thou, O Lord, art become their God.

²³Now therefore, O Lord, let the word which thou hast spoken to thy servant, and concerning his house, be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.

²⁴And let thy name remain and be magnified for ever: and let it be said: The Lord of hosts is God of Israel, and the house of David his servant remaineth before him.

²⁵For thou, O Lord my God, hast revealed to the ear of thy servant, that thou wilt build him a house: and therefore thy servant hath found confidence to pray before thee.

²⁶And now O Lord, thou art God: and thou hast promised to thy servant such great benefits.

²⁷And thou hast begun to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be always before thee: for seeing thou blessest it, O Lord, it shall be blessed for ever.

Chapter 18

And it came to pass after this, that David defeated the Philistines, and humbled them, and took away Geth, and her daughters out of the hands of the Philistines,

²And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites were made David’s servants, and brought him gifts.

³At that time David defeated also Adarezer king of Soba of the land of Hemath, when he went to extend his dominions as far as the river Euphrates.

⁴And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and he houghed all the chariot horses, only a hundred chariots, which he reserved for himself.

⁵And the Syrians of Damascus came also to help Adarezer king of Soba: and David slew of them likewise two and twenty thousand men.

⁶And he put a garrison in Damascus, that Syria also should serve him, and bring gifts. And the Lord assisted him in all things to which he went.

⁷And David took the golden quivers which the servants of Adarezer had, and he brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸Likewise out of Thebath and Chun, cities of Adarezer, he brought very much brass, of which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.

⁹Now when Thou king of Hemath heard that David had defeated all the army of Adarezer king of Soba,

¹⁰He sent Adoram his son to king David to desire peace of him, and to congratulate him that he had defeated and overthrown Adarezer: for Thou was an enemy to Adarezer.

¹¹And all the vessels of gold, and silver and brass king David consecrated to the Lord, with the silver and gold…