1 Chronicles 15–16

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

15:25–16:3pp—2Sa 6:12–19

15After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared^v a place for the ark of God and pitched^w a tent for it. ²Then David said, “No one but the Levites^x may carry^y the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister^z before him forever.”

³David assembled all Israel^a in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it. ⁴He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:^b

⁵From the descendants of Kohath,

Uriel^c the leader and 120 relatives;

⁶from the descendants of Merari,

Asaiah the leader and 220 relatives;

⁷from the descendants of Gershon,^a

Joel the leader and 130 relatives;

⁸from the descendants of Elizaphan,^d

Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives;

⁹from the descendants of Hebron,^e

Eliel the leader and 80 relatives;

¹⁰from the descendants of Uzziel,

Amminadab the leader and 112 relatives.

¹¹Then David summoned Zadok^f and Abiathar^g the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. ¹²He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate^h yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³It was because you, the Levites,ⁱ did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us.^j We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.^k” ¹⁴So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded^l in accordance with the word of the Lord.^m

¹⁶Davidⁿ told the leaders of the Levites^o to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians^p to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.^q

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman^r son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph^s son of Berekiah; and from their relatives the Merarites,^t Ethan son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸and with them their relatives next in rank: Zechariah,^b Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom^u and Jeiel,^c the gatekeepers.

¹⁹The musicians Heman,^v Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; ²⁰Zechariah, Jaaziel,^d Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth,^{e 21}and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith.^{f 22}Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.

²³Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark. ²⁴Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets^w before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark^x of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. ²⁶Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams^y were sacrificed. ²⁷Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the musicians, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod.^{z 28}So all Israel^a brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts,^b with the sounding of rams’ horns^c and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.

²⁹As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

Ministering Before the Ark

16:8–22pp—Ps 105:1–15 16:23–33pp—Ps 96:1–13 16:34–36pp—Ps 106:1,47–48

16They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched^d for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. ²After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed^e the people in the name of the Lord. ³Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins^f to each Israelite man and woman.

⁴He appointed some of the Levites to minister^g before the ark of the Lord, to extol,^a thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel: ⁵Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel,^b Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise^h to the Lord in this manner:

⁸Give praiseⁱ to the Lord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nations^j what he has done.

⁹Sing to him, sing praise^k to him;

tell of all his wonderful acts.

¹⁰Glory in his holy name;^l

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

¹¹Look to the Lord and his strength;

seek^m his face always.

¹²Rememberⁿ the wonders^o he has done,

his miracles,^p and the judgments he pronounced,

¹³you his servants, the descendants of Israel,

his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

¹⁴He is the Lord our God;

his judgments^q are in all the earth.

¹⁵He remembers^cr his covenant forever,

the promise he made, for a thousand generations,

¹⁶the covenant^s he made with Abraham,

the oath he swore to Isaac.

¹⁷He confirmed it to Jacob^t as a decree,

to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

¹⁸“To you I will give the land of Canaan^u

as the portion you will inherit.”

¹⁹When they were but few in number,^v

few indeed, and strangers in it,

²⁰they^d wandered^w from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another.

²¹He allowed no one to oppress them;

for their sake he rebuked kings:^x

²²“Do not touch my anointed ones;

do my prophets^y no harm.”

²³Sing to the Lord, all the earth;

proclaim his salvation day after day.

²⁴Declare his glory^z among the nations,

his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

²⁵For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;^a

he is to be feared^b above all gods.^c

²⁶For all the gods of the nations are idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.^d

²⁷Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

²⁸Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.^e

²⁹Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;^f

bring an offering and come before him.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his^e holiness.^g

³⁰Tremble^h before him, all the earth!

The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.ⁱ

³¹Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;^j

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

³²Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;^l

let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

³³Let the trees^m of the forest sing,

let them sing for joy before the Lord,

for he comes to judgeⁿ the earth.

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

his love endures forever.^q

³⁵Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;^r

gather us and deliver us from the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name,

and glory in your praise.”

³⁶Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,^s

from everlasting to everlasting.

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

³⁷David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements.^{t 38}He also left Obed-Edom^u and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah,^v were gatekeepers.

³⁹David left Zadok^w the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon^{x 40}to present burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law^y of the Lord, which he had given Israel. ⁴¹With them were Heman^z and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, “for his love endures forever.” ⁴²Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song.^a The sons of Jeduthun^b were stationed at the gate.

⁴³Then all the people left, each for their own home, and David returned home to bless his family.