1 Chronicles 16–18

16TH CHAPTER

¹The men carrying the ark set it inside the tent David had put up for it. They presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God’s presence. ²When David had finished sacrificing burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. ³He also distributed to every person in Israel—both men and women—a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. 

The Levites Lead the Worship in Jerusalem—2 Samuel 6:19b–20a; Psalm 96:1–13; 105:1–15; 106:1, 47–48

⁴David appointed some Levites to serve in front of the Lord’s ark by offering prayers, thanks, and praise to the Lord God of Israel. ⁵Asaph was the head; Zechariah was second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel with harps and lyres. Asaph played the cymbals. ⁶The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel played trumpets all the time in front of the ark of God’s promise. ⁷For the first time David entrusted Asaph and his relatives with the task of singing songs of thanks to the Lord: 

⁸“Give thanks to the Lord. 

Call on his name. 

Make known among the nations what he has done. 

⁹Sing to him. 

Make music to praise him. 

Meditate on all the miracles he has done. 

¹⁰Brag about his holy name. 

Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 

¹¹Search for the Lord and his strength. 

Always seek his presence. 

¹²Remember the miracles he performed, 

the amazing things he did and the judgments he pronounced, 

¹³you descendants of Israel, his servant, 

you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones. 

¹⁴“He is the Lord our God. 

His judgments are pronounced throughout the earth. 

¹⁵Remember his promise^aforever, 

the word that he commanded for a thousand generations, 

¹⁶the promise that he made to Abraham, 

and his sworn promise to Isaac. 

¹⁷He confirmed it as a law for Jacob, 

as an everlasting promise to Israel, 

¹⁸by saying, ‘I will give you Canaan. 

It is your share of the inheritance.’ 

¹⁹“While they were few in number, 

a small group of foreigners living in that land, 

²⁰they wandered from nation to nation 

and from one kingdom to another. 

²¹He didn’t permit anyone to oppress them. 

He warned kings about them: 

²²‘Do not touch my anointed ones 

or harm my prophets.’ 

²³“Sing to the Lord, all the earth! 

Day after day announce that the Lord saves his people. 

²⁴Tell people about his glory. 

Tell all the nations about his miracles. 

²⁵“The Lord is great! 

He should be highly praised. 

He should be feared more than all ⸤other⸥ gods 

²⁶because all the gods of the nations are idols. 

The Lord made the heavens. 

²⁷Splendor and majesty are in his presence. 

Strength and joy are where he is. 

²⁸“Give to the Lord, you families of the nations. 

Give to the Lord glory and power. 

²⁹Give to the Lord the glory his name deserves. 

Bring an offering, and come to him. 

Worship the Lord in ⸤his⸥ holy splendor. 

³⁰Tremble in his presence, all the earth! 

“The earth stands firm; it cannot be moved. 

³¹Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad. 

Say to the nations, ‘The Lord rules as king!’ 

³²Let the sea and everything in it roar like thunder. 

Let the fields and everything in them rejoice. 

³³Then the trees in the forest will sing with joy 

in the presence of the Lord when he comes to judge the earth. 

³⁴“Give thanks to the Lord because he is good, 

because his mercy endures forever. 

³⁵Say, ‘Rescue us, O God our Savior. 

Gather us and save us from the nations 

so that we may give thanks to your holy name 

and make your praise our glory.’ 

³⁶Thanks be to the Lord God of Israel 

from everlasting to everlasting.” 

Then all the people said amen and praised the Lord. 

³⁷David left Asaph and his relatives to serve continually in front of the ark of the Lord’s promise, as the daily work required. ³⁸David also left Obed Edom and 68 of his relatives ⸤to serve there⸥. Obed Edom (Jeduthun’s son) and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. ³⁹David left Zadok and his priestly relatives to serve in the Lord’s tent at the place of worship in Gibeon. ⁴⁰They were ordered to sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord. This happened on the altar of burnt offerings continually, morning and evening, as written in the Lord’s Teachings that he gave Israel. ⁴¹With Zadok and his relatives were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of the Levites who had been selected, chosen by name, to give thanks to the Lord ⸤by singing,⸥ “His mercy endures forever.” ⁴²Also, Heman and Jeduthun played trumpets, cymbals, and the ⸤other⸥ musical instruments that accompany sacred songs. Jeduthun’s sons were stationed at the gate. 

⁴³Then all the people went home. David went back to bless his family. 

17TH CHAPTER

David’s Wish to Build a House for God—2 Samuel 7:1–29

¹When David was living in his house, he said to the prophet Nathan, “I’m living in a house made of cedar, while the ark of the Lord’s promise is inside a tent.” 

²Nathan told David, “Do everything you have in mind, because God is with you.” 

³But that same night God spoke his word to Nathan: ⁴“Say to David, my servant, ‘This is what the Lord says: You must not build this house for me to live in. ⁵I haven’t lived in a house from the day I brought Israel out ⸤of Egypt⸥ to this day, but I’ve gone from tent site to tent site, moving the tent ⸤of meeting⸥ from one location ⸤to another⸥. ⁶In all the places I’ve moved with all Israel, did I ever ask any of the judges of Israel whom I ordered to be shepherds of my people why they didn’t build me a house of cedar?’ 

⁷“Now this is what you will say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture where you followed sheep so that you could be the leader of my people Israel. ⁸I was with you wherever you went, and I destroyed all your enemies in front of you. I will make your name like the names of the greatest people on earth. ⁹I will make a place for my people Israel and plant them there. They will live in their own place and not be troubled anymore. The wicked will no longer frighten them as they used to do ¹⁰ever since I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. I will crush all your enemies. I even tell you that I, the Lord, will build a house for you. 

¹¹“ ‘When the time comes for you to go and be with your ancestors, I will send one of your descendants. He will be one of your sons. I will establish his kingdom. ¹²He will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³I will be his Father, and he will be my Son. And I will never stop showing him my love as I did to your predecessor. ¹⁴I will place him in my royal house forever, and his throne will be established forever.’ ” 

¹⁵Nathan told David all these words and everything he had seen. 

¹⁶Then King David went into the tent and sat in front of the Lord. “Who am I, Lord God,” he asked, “and why is my house so important that you have brought me this far? ¹⁷And this you consider to be a small act, God. You’ve spoken about the distant future of my house. Lord God, you’ve shown me the generation of the great man. 

¹⁸“What more can I do for you in light of the honor ⸤you have given⸥ to me and since you know me so well! ¹⁹Lord, you’ve done this great thing for my sake and your own desire. You made this great thing known to me. 

²⁰“Lord, there is no one like you, and there is no other god except you, as we have heard with our own ears. ²¹Who is like your people Israel? It is the one nation on earth that God came to free in order to make its people his own, to make your name known, and to do great and wonderful things for them. You forced the nations and their gods out of the way of your people, whom you freed from Egypt. ²²You made the people of Israel to be your people forever. And you, Lord, became their God. 

²³“Now, Lord, faithfully keep the promise you made to me and my house forever. Do as you promised. ²⁴Your name will endure and be respected forever when ⸤people⸥ say, ‘The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God.’ And the house of David, your servant, will be established in your presence. ²⁵You, my God, have revealed especially to me that you will build me a house. That is why I have found ⸤the courage⸥ to pray to you. 

²⁶“Almighty Lord, you are God. You promised me this good thing. ²⁷Now, you were pleased to bless my house so that it may continue in your presence forever. Indeed, you, Lord, have blessed it. It will be blessed forever.” 

18TH CHAPTER

David’s Successes—2 Samuel 8:1–18

¹After this, David defeated and crushed the Philistines. He took Gath and its surrounding villages from them. 

²He also defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s subjects and paid taxes ⸤to him⸥. 

³When David went to establish his control ⸤over the territory⸥ along the Euphrates River, he defeated King Hadadezer at Hamath. ⁴David took 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers from him. David also disabled all but 100 of their horses so that they couldn’t pull chariots. 

⁵When the Arameans from Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of them. ⁶David put troops in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became his subjects and paid taxes ⸤to him⸥. Everywhere David went, the Lord gave him victories. 

⁷David took the gold shields that Hadadezer’s servants carried, and he brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸David also took a large quantity of bronze from Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer’s cities. (⸤Later⸥ Solomon used it to make the pool, pillars, and utensils ⸤for the temple⸥.) 

⁹When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Zobah’s King Hadadezer, ¹⁰he sent his son Hadoram to greet King David and congratulate him for fighting and defeating Hadadezer. (There had often been war between Hadadezer and Tou.) ¹¹King David dedicated all the articles of gold, silver, and bronze to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had taken from other nations—from Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, and Amalek. 

¹²Zeruiah’s son Abishai killed 18,000 Edomites in the Dead Sea region. ¹³He put troops in Edom, and all its…