The Ark Placed in a Tent

16 And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside cthe tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord 3 and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat,1 and a cake of raisins.

4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 dAsaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 Then on that day eDavid first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.

David’s Song of Thanks

8  fOh give thanks to the Lord; gcall upon his name;

hmake known his deeds among the peoples!

9  Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works!

10  Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

11  iSeek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually!

12  jRemember the wondrous works that he has done,

khis miracles and the judgments he uttered,

13  O offspring of Israel his servant,

children of Jacob, his chosen ones!

14  He is the Lord our God;

lhis judgments are in all the earth.

15  Remember his covenant forever,

the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

16  the covenant mthat he made with Abraham,

his sworn promise to Isaac,

17  which nhe confirmed to Jacob as a statute,

to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

18  saying, o“To you I will give the land of Canaan,

as your portion for an inheritance.”

19  When you were pfew in number,

of little account, and qsojourners in it,

20  wandering from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another people,

21  he allowed no one to oppress them;

he rrebuked kings on their account,

22  saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,

do my sprophets no harm!”

23  tSing to the Lord, all the earth!

Tell of his salvation from day to day.

24  Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples!

25  For ugreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and he is to be feared vabove all gods.

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

wbut the Lord made the heavens.

27  Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy are in his place.

28  Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

xascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

29  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring an offering and come before him!

yWorship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;2

30  tremble before him, all the earth;

yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

31  zLet the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,

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

32  bLet the sea roar, and all that fills it;

let the field exult, and everything in it!

33  Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy

before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

34  Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

35 cSay also:

“Save us, O God of our salvation,

and gather and deliver us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

36  dBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!”

eThen all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Worship Before the Ark

37 So David left Asaph and his brothers there fbefore the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister regularly before the ark gas each day required, 38 and also hObed-edom and his3 sixty-eight brothers, while hObed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and iHosah were to be gatekeepers. 39 And he left jZadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord kin the high place that was at Gibeon 40 to offer burnt offerings to the Lord lon the altar of burnt offering mregularly morning and evening, to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord that he commanded Israel. 41 With them were nHeman and Jeduthun oand the rest of those chosen and pexpressly named to give thanks to the Lord, qfor his steadfast love endures forever. 42 Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments rfor sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate.

43 sThen all the people departed each to his house, and David went home to bless his household.

The Lord’s Covenant with David

17 tNow when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.” 2 And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

3 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 4 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: uIt is not you who will build me a house to dwell in. 5 For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day, vbut I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. 6 In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’ 7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, 10 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I wwill subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. 11 When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 xI will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, yas I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’ ” 15 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer

16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 17 And this was a small thing in your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations,1 O Lord God! 18 And what more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant. 19 zFor your servant’s sake, O Lord, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. 20 There is none like you, O Lord, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 And who is like your people Israel, the one2 nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for yourself a name for great and awesome things, in driving out nations before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt? 22 And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God. 23 And now, O Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have spoken, 24 and your name will be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 25 For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you. 26 And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 27 Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for it is you, O Lord, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

David Defeats His Enemies

18 aAfter this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

2 And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

3 David also defeated bHadadezer king of cZobah-Hamath, as he went to set up his monument1 at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him 1,000 chariots, d7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king eof Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons2 in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David3 wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from fTibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a large amount of bronze. gWith it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.

9 When hTou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, king eof Zobah, 10 he sent his son iHadoram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against bHadadezer and defeated him; for bHadadezer had often been at war with Tou. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze. 11 These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he had carried off from all the nations, from jEdom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

12 And kAbishai, the son of Zeruiah, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

David’s Administration

14 So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people. 15 And lJoab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 mand Zadok the son of Ahitub and nAhimelech the son of Abiathar were priests; and oShavsha was secretary; 17 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were the pchief officials in the service of the king.