16 The Levites brought the Box of the Agreement* and put it inside the tent David had set up for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God. ²After David had finished giving the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he used the Lord’s name to bless the people. ³Then he gave a loaf of bread, some dates, and raisins to every Israelite man and woman. ⁴Then David chose some of the Levites to serve before the Box of the Agreement.* Those Levites* had the job of celebrating and giving thanks and praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁵Asaph was the leader {of the first group}. Asaph’s group played the cymbals.* Zechariah was the {leader of the} second {group}. The other Levites were: Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel. These men played the lyres* and harps.* ⁶Benaiah and Jahaziel were the priests that always blew the trumpets before the Box of the Agreement. ⁷This was when David first gave Asaph and his brothers the job of singing praises to the Lord.

David’s Song of Thanks

⁸Praise the Lord. Call on his name. Tell people about the great things the Lord has done. ⁹Sing to the Lord. Sing praises to the Lord. Tell about all his wonderful works. ¹⁰Be proud of the Lord’s holy name. All you people coming to the Lord, be happy! ¹¹Look to the Lord and his strength. Always go to him for help. ¹²Remember the wonderful things that the Lord has done. Remember his decisions and the powerful things he has done. ¹³The people of Israel are the Lord’s servants. The descendants of Jacob, are the Lord’s chosen people. ¹⁴The Lord is our God. His power is everywhere. ¹⁵Remember his Agreement forever. He gave those commandments for a thousand generations. ¹⁶Remember the Agreement that the Lord made with Abraham. Remember his promise to Isaac. ¹⁷The Lord made it a law for Jacob. It is the Agreement with Israel that continues forever. ¹⁸The Lord said to Israel: “I will give the land of Canaan to you. The promised land will be yours.” ¹⁹There were only a few people. A few strangers in a foreign land. ²⁰They went from one nation to another. They went from one kingdom to another. ²¹But the Lord did not let anyone hurt them. The Lord warned kings not to hurt them. ²²The Lord told those kings, “Don’t hurt my chosen people. Don’t hurt my prophets.” ²³Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Each day you must tell the good news about the Lord saving us. ²⁴Tell all nations about the Lord’s glory. Tell everyone how wonderful he is. ²⁵The Lord is great, and he should be praised. The Lord is more awesome than all the other gods. ²⁶Why? Because all the gods of the world are only worthless statues. But the Lord made the skies! ²⁷The Lord has glory and honor. The Lord is like a bright, shining light. ²⁸Families and people, praise the Lord’s glory and power! ²⁹Praise the Lord’s glory. Show honor to his name. Bring your offering to the Lord. Worship the Lord and his holy beauty. ³⁰The whole earth should shake with fear in front of the Lord! But he made the earth strong, the world won’t move. ³¹Let the earth and skies be happy. Let people everywhere say, “The Lord rules!” ³²Let the sea and everything in it shout! Let the fields and everything in them show their joy! ³³The trees of the forest will sing with joy in front of the Lord! Why? Because the Lord is coming. He is coming to judge the world. ³⁴Oh, thank the Lord—he is good. The Lord’s love continues forever. ³⁵Say to the Lord, “Save us, God our Savior. Gather us together, and save us from the other nations. Then we can praise your holy name. Then we can praise you with our songs.” ³⁶May the Lord God of Israel be praised forever as he has been praised forever! All the people praised the Lord and said “Amen!” ³⁷Then David left Asaph and his brothers there in front of the Box of the Agreement. David left them there to serve in front of it every day. ³⁸David also left Obed Edom and 68 other Levites to serve with Asaph and his brothers. Obed Edom and Hosah were guards. Obed Edom was Jeduthun’s son. ³⁹David left Zadok the priest and the other priests that served with him in front of the Lord’s Tent* at the high place* in Gibeon. ⁴⁰Every morning and evening Zadok and the other priests offered burnt offerings on the altar of burnt offerings. They did this to follow the rules written in the Law of the Lord which the Lord had given Israel. ⁴¹Heman and Jeduthun and all the other Levites were chosen by name to sing the songs of praise such as, Praise the Lord because his love continues forever.* ⁴²Heman and Jeduthun were with them. They had the job of blowing the trumpets and playing cymbals.* They also had the job of playing other musical instruments when songs were sung to God. Jeduthun’s sons guarded the gates. ⁴³{After the celebration,} all the people left. Each person went to his own home. And David also went home to bless his family.

Box of the Agreement Also called “The Ark of the Covenant,” the box containing the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them and the other things that proved God was with the people of Israel during their time in the Sinai Desert. Levites People from the tribe of Levi. The Levites helped the priests in the temple and also worked for the civil government. cymbals Brass plates that were hit together to make a ringing noise. lyres An instrument with several strings, like a harp. harps Musical instruments with several strings. Lord’s Tent Or, “tabernacle.” Also called the “meeting tent.” The people would go to this tent to meet with God. The people used this tent until Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. high place A place for worshiping God or false gods. These places were often on the hills and mountains. Praise ... forever See 2 Chron.7:6, Psalms 118 and 136.

God’s Promise to David

17 After David had moved into his house, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a house made of cedar wood, but the Box of the Agreement* sits under a tent. {I want to build a temple* for God.}” ²Nathan answered David, “You may do what you want to do. God is with you.” ³But that night the word of God came to Nathan. ⁴God said, “Go and tell these things to my servant David: The Lord says, ‘David, you are not the person to build a house for me to live in. ^5–6Since the time I brought Israel out of Egypt until now, I have not lived in a house. I have moved around in a tent. I chose people to be special leaders for the people of Israel. Those leaders were like shepherds for my people. While I was going around in Israel to different places, I never said to any of those leaders: Why haven’t you built a house of cedar wood for me?’ ⁷“Now, tell these things to my servant David: The Lord All-Powerful says, ‘I took you from the fields and from taking care of the sheep. I made you king of my people Israel. ⁸I have been with you everywhere you went. I went ahead of you and I killed your enemies. Now I will make you one of the most famous men on earth. ⁹I am giving this place to my people Israel. They will plant their trees, and they will sit in peace under those trees. They won’t be bothered anymore. Evil people won’t hurt them like they did at first. ¹⁰Those bad things happened, but I chose leaders to care for my people Israel. And I will also defeat all your enemies. “‘I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you.* ¹¹When you die, and you join your ancestors,* then I will let your own son be the new king. The new king will be one of your sons. And I will make his kingdom strong. ¹²Your son will build a house for me. I will make your son’s family rule forever. ¹³I will be his Father, and he will be my son. Saul was the king before you. And I took away my support from Saul. But I will never stop loving your son. ¹⁴I will put him in charge of my house and kingdom forever. His rule will continue forever!’” ¹⁵Nathan told David about the vision* and about all of the things that God had said.

David’s Prayer

¹⁶Then King David went {to the Holy Tent} and sat before the Lord. David said, “Lord God, you have done so much for me and my family. And I don’t understand why. ¹⁷Besides all those things, you let me know what will happen to my family in the future. You have treated me like a very important man. ¹⁸What more can I say? You have done so much for me. And I am only your servant. You know that. ¹⁹Lord, you have done this wonderful thing for me. And you did it because you wanted to. ²⁰There is no one like you, Lord. There is no God except you. We have never heard of any god doing wonderful things like those! ²¹Is there any other nation like Israel? No! Israel is the only nation on earth that you have done these wonderful things for. You took us out of Egypt and you made us free. You made yourself famous! You went in front of your people, and forced other people to leave their land for us! ²²You took Israel to be your people forever. And Lord, you became their God! ²³“Lord, you made this promise to me and my family. Now, keep your promise forever. Do what you said you would! ²⁴Keep your promise so people will honor your name forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord All- Powerful is Israel’s God!’ I am your servant! Please let my family be strong and continue to serve you. ²⁵“My God, you spoke to me, your servant. You made it clear that you would make my family a family of kings. That is why I am being so bold—that is why I am asking you to do these things. ²⁶Lord, you are God. And God, you yourself promised to do these good thing for me. ²⁷Lord, you have been kind enough to bless my family. You were kind enough to promise that my family will serve you forever. Lord, you yourself blessed my family, so my family really will be blessed forever!”

cymbals Brass plates that were hit together to make a ringing noise. Box of the Agreement Also called “The Ark of the Covenant,” the box containing the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them and the other things that proved God was with the people of Israel during their time in the Sinai Desert. temple The special building in Jerusalem for Jewish worship. I ... a house for you This does not mean a real house. It means the Lord would make men from David’s family kings for many, many years. ancestors Literally, “fathers.” This means a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. vision Like a dream. God gave messages to his special people by letting them see and hear things in visions.