I Chronicles 15-19

I Chronicles 15

¹And he made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and spread a tent for it.

²Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for them has Jehovah chosen to carry the ark of God, and to serve him for ever.

³And David assembled all Israel to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Jehovah to its place that he had prepared for it.

⁴And David gathered the sons of Aaron and the Levites:

⁵of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twenty;

⁶of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty;

⁷of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty;

⁸of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred;

⁹of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and his brethren eighty;

¹⁰of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve.

¹¹And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab;

¹²and he said to them, Ye are the chief fathers of the Levites; hallow yourselves, ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of Jehovah the God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it.

¹³For because ye did it not at the first, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.

¹⁴So the priests and the Levites hallowed themselves to bring up the ark of Jehovah the God of Israel.

¹⁵And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves upon them, as Moses had commanded according to the word of Jehovah.

¹⁶And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren, the singers, with instruments of music, lutes, and harps, and cymbals, that they should sound aloud, lifting up the voice with joy.

¹⁷And the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;

¹⁸and with them their brethren of the second rank, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers;

¹⁹and the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, to sound aloud with cymbals of brass;

²⁰and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with lutes on Alamoth;

²¹and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-Edom and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to lead the singing.

²²And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites for the music, gave instruction in music, for he was skilful.

²³And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁴And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, blew with the trumpets before the ark of God; and Obed-Edom and Jehijah were doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵And David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the house of Obed-Edom with joy.

²⁶And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, that they sacrificed seven bullocks and seven rams.

²⁷And David was clothed with a robe of byssus, and all the Levites that bore the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah chief of the music of the singers; and David had upon him a linen ephod.

²⁸And all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah with shouting, and with sound of the trumpet, and with clarions, and with cymbals, playing aloud with lutes and harps.

²⁹And it came to pass as the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked through a window, and saw king David dancing and playing; and she despised him in her heart.

I Chronicles 16

¹And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had spread for it; and they presented burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God.

²And when David had ended offering up the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Jehovah.

³And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread and a measure of wine and a raisin-cake.

⁴And he appointed certain of the Levites to do the service before the ark of Jehovah, and to celebrate, and to thank and praise Jehovah the God of Israel:

⁵Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with instruments of lutes and with harps; and Asaph sounding with cymbals;

⁶and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to give thanks to Jehovah through Asaph and his brethren.

⁸Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known his acts among the peoples.

⁹Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; Meditate upon all his wondrous works.

¹⁰Glory in his holy name: Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah.

¹¹Seek Jehovah and his strength, Seek his face continually;

¹²Remember his wondrous works which he hath done; His miracles, and the judgments of his mouth:

¹³Ye seed of Israel his servant, Ye sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴He, Jehovah, is our God; His judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵Be ye ever mindful of his covenant, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations, --

¹⁶Which he made with Abraham, And of his oath unto Isaac;

¹⁷And he confirmed it unto Jacob for a statute, Unto Israel for an everlasting covenant,

¹⁸Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance;

¹⁹When ye were a few men in number, Of small account, and strangers in it.

²⁰And they went from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people.

²¹He suffered no man to oppress them, And reproved kings for their sakes,

²²Saying, Touch not mine anointed ones, And do my prophets no harm.

²³Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth; Publish his salvation from day to day.

²⁴Declare his glory among the nations, His wondrous works among all peoples.

²⁵For Jehovah is great, and exceedingly to be praised; And he is terrible above all gods.

²⁶For all the gods of the peoples are idols; But Jehovah made the heavens.

²⁷Majesty and splendour are before him; Strength and gladness in his place.

²⁸Give unto Jehovah, ye families of peoples, Give unto Jehovah glory and strength!

²⁹Give unto Jehovah the glory of his name! Bring an oblation, and come before him: Worship Jehovah in holy splendour.

³⁰Tremble before him, all the earth: The world also is established, it shall not be moved.

³¹Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth!

³²Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; Let the field exult, and all that is therein.

³³Then shall the trees of the forest sing out at the presence of Jehovah, For he cometh to judge the earth.

³⁴Give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good; For his loving-kindness endureth for ever.

³⁵And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us, and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name, To triumph in thy praise.

³⁶Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, from eternity and to eternity! And all the people said, Amen! and praised Jehovah.

³⁷And he left there, before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, Asaph and his brethren, to do the service before the ark continually, as every day's duty required;

³⁸and Obed-Edom, and their brethren, sixty-eight; Obed-Edom also, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah as doorkeepers.

³⁹And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of Jehovah in the high place that was at Gibeon,

⁴⁰to offer up burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of burnt-offering continually, morning and evening, and according to all that is written in the law of Jehovah, which he commanded Israel;

⁴¹and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to Jehovah, because his loving-kindness endureth for ever;

⁴²and with them, with Heman and Jeduthun, trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud; and the musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate.

⁴³And all the people departed every one to his house; and David returned to bless his household.

I Chronicles 17

¹And it came to pass as David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah under curtains.

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

³And it came to pass that night that the word of God came to Nathan saying,

⁴Go and say to David my servant, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in;

⁵for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day; but I have been from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

⁶In all my going about with all Israel, did I speak a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why build ye me not a house of cedars?

⁷And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel;

⁸and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth.

⁹And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness waste them any more, as formerly,

¹⁰and since the days that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I will subdue all thine enemies; and I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house.

¹¹And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

¹²It is he who shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever.

¹³I will be his father, and he shall be my son; and I will not take away my mercy from him, as I took it from him that was before thee;

¹⁴and I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever.

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

¹⁶And king David went in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, Jehovah Elohim, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

¹⁷And this hath been a small thing in thy sight, O God; and thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, Jehovah Elohim.

¹⁸What can David say more to thee for the glory of thy servant? thou indeed knowest thy servant.

¹⁹Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make known all these great things.

²⁰Jehovah, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²¹And who is like thy people Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, which thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?

²²And thy people Israel hast thou made thine own people for ever; and thou, Jehovah, art become their God.

²³And now, Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.

²⁴Let it even be established, and let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, is God to Israel; and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.

²⁵For thou, my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build him a house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray before thee.

²⁶And now, Jehovah, thou art that God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant;

²⁷and now, let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou, Jehovah, hast blessed it, and it shall be blessed for ever.

I Chronicles 18

¹And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines.

²And he smote the Moabites; and the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts.

³And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah, at Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates.

⁴And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.

⁵And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, and David smote of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.

⁶And David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.

⁷And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸And from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, David took very much brass, of which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.

⁹And Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadarezer king of Zobah;

¹⁰and he sent Hadoram his son to king David to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him; for Hadarezer was continually at war with Tou; he sent also all manner of vessels of gold and silver and bronze.

¹¹Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had brought from all the nations: from the Edomites, and from the Moabites, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from the Amalekites.

¹²And Abishai the son of Zeruiah smote of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand.

¹³And he put garrisons in Edom; and all they of Edom became servants to David. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.

¹⁴And David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice to all his people.

¹⁵And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was chronicler;

¹⁶and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe;

¹⁷and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were the first at the king's hand.

I Chronicles 19

¹And it came to pass after this that Nahash king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead.

²And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.

³And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search and overthrow, and to spy out the land that his servants are come to thee?

⁴And Hanun took David's servants, and had them shaved, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as the hip, and sent them away.

⁵And certain went and told David concerning the men; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

⁶And the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David; and Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and from the Syrians of Maacah, and from Zobah.

⁷And they hired thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people; and they came and encamped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle.

⁸And David heard of it, and he sent Joab, and all the host, the mighty men.

⁹And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the city; and the kings that had come were by themselves on the field.

¹⁰And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians;

¹¹and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon.

¹²And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee.

¹³Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people, and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah will do what is good in his sight.

¹⁴And Joab and the people that were with him drew near in front of the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him.

¹⁵And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. And Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

¹⁷And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. And David put the battle in array against the Syrians, and they fought with him.

¹⁸And the Syrians fled from before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and slew Shophach the captain of the host.

¹⁹And the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with David, and became his servants. And the Syrians would no more help the children of Ammon.