I Chronicles 15-19

I Chronicles 15

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

²Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

³And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto its place, which he had prepared for it.

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

⁵of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an 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 an 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 fourscore:

¹⁰of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an 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 said unto them, Ye are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, unto the place that I have prepared for it.

¹³For because ye bare it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not according to the ordinance.

¹⁴So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁵And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD.

¹⁶And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren the singers, with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding aloud and lifting up the voice with joy.

¹⁷So 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 degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers.

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

²⁰and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to Alamoth;

²¹and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to lead.

²²And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over the song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.

²³And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁴And Shebaniah, and Joshaphat, and Nethanel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the house of Obed-edom with joy:

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

²⁷And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: and David had upon him an ephod of linen.

²⁸Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding aloud with psalteries and harps.

²⁹And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the 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 pitched for it: and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.

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

³And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a portion of flesh, and a cake of raisins.

⁴And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to celebrate and to thank and praise the LORD, 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 psalteries and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud;

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

⁷Then on that day did David first ordain to give thanks unto the LORD, by the hand of Asaph and his brethren.

⁸O give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name; make known his doings among the peoples.

⁹Sing unto him, sing praises unto him; talk ye of all his marvelous works.

¹⁰Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

¹¹Seek ye the LORD and his strength; seek his face evermore.

¹²Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

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

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

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

¹⁶The covenant which he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

¹⁷And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

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

¹⁹When ye were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and sojourners in it;

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

²¹He suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

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

²³Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

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

²⁵For great is the LORD, and highly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

²⁶For all the gods of the peoples are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

²⁷Honour and majesty are before him: strength and gladness are in his place.

²⁸Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the peoples, give unto the LORD glory and strength.

²⁹Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

³⁰Tremble before him, all the earth: the world also is stablished that it cannot be moved.

³¹Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; and let them say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.

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

³³Then shall the trees of the wood sing for joy before the LORD, for he cometh to judge the earth.

³⁴O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

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

³⁶Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

³⁷So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required:

³⁸and Obed-edom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers:

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

⁴⁰to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which he commanded unto Israel;

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

⁴²and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God: and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.

⁴³And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.

I Chronicles 17

¹And it came to pass, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD dwelleth under curtains.

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

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

⁴Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:

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

⁶In all places wherein I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedar?

⁷Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest 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 I will make thee a name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth.

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

¹⁰and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will subdue all thine enemies. Moreover I tell thee that the LORD will build thee an house.

¹¹And it shall come to pass, when thy days be 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.

¹²He shall build me an 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 my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:

¹⁴but I will settle him in mine 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 unto David.

¹⁶Then David the king went in, and sat before the LORD; and he said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?

¹⁷And this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; but thou hast spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O LORD God.

¹⁸What can David say yet more unto thee concerning the honour which is done to thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant.

¹⁹O LORD, for thy servant’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things.

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

²¹And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem unto himself for a people, to make thee a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before thy people, which thou redeemedst out of Egypt?

²²For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God.

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

²⁴And let thy name be established and magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and the house of David thy servant is established before thee.

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

²⁶And now, O LORD, thou art God, and hast promised this good thing unto thy servant:

²⁷and now it hath pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O LORD, hast blessed, and it is 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 her towns out of the hand of the Philistines.

²And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became servants to David, and brought presents.

³And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to stablish 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 an hundred chariots.

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

⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought presents. And the LORD gave victory to 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 Cun, cities of Hadarezer, David took very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brasen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.

⁹And when Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah,

¹⁰he sent Hadoram his son to king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him; for Hadarezer had wars with Tou; and he had with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.

¹¹These also did king David dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹²Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah smote of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt eighteen thousand.

¹³And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the LORD gave victory to David whithersoever he went.

¹⁴And David reigned over all Israel; and he executed judgment and justice unto all his people.

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

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

¹⁷and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.

I Chronicles 19

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

²And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. So 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.

³But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?

⁴So Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

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

⁶And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Aram-maacah, and out of Zobah.

⁷So they hired them thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people; who came and pitched before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cites, and came to battle.

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

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

¹⁰Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians.

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

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

¹³Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.

¹⁴So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto the battle; and they fled before him.

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

¹⁶And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer at their head.

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

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

¹⁹And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and served him: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.