16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on pmusical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed qHeman the son of Joel; and of his brothers rAsaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, sEthan the son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19 The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, tAziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to uAlamoth; 21 but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, vObed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to wthe Sheminith. 22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, should xblow the trumpets before the ark of God. vObed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.
12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” fSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom gto the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when hthose who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, ihe sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David jdanced before the Lord with all his might. And David was kwearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
David and Michal
16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it lin its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. mAnd David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, nhe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts 19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat,1 and a cake of raisins to each one. oThen all the people departed, each to his house.
25 ySo David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of vObed-edom with rejoicing. 26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed zseven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, atrumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on bharps and lyres.
29 And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.
The Ark Placed in a Tent
1 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!”
Tell of All His Wondrous Works
1 tOh give thanks to the Lord; ucall upon his name;
vmake known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
wtell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his xstrength;
yseek his presence continually!
5 Remember the zwondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and athe judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of bAbraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his cchosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
his djudgments are in all the earth.
8 He eremembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for fa thousand generations,
9 gthe covenant that he made with Abraham,
his hsworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to iJacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, j“To you I will give the land of Canaan
as kyour portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were lfew in number,
of little account, and msojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he nallowed no one to oppress them;
he orebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, p“Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
16 When he qsummoned a famine on the land
and rbroke all supply1 of bread,
17 he had ssent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was tsold as a slave.
18 His ufeet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until vwhat he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord wtested him.
20 xThe king sent and yreleased him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he zmade him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind2 his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then aIsrael came to Egypt;
Jacob bsojourned in cthe land of Ham.
24 And the Lord dmade his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He eturned their hearts to hate his people,
to fdeal craftily with his servants.
26 He gsent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, hwhom he had chosen.
27 iThey performed his signs among them
and miracles in cthe land of Ham.
28 He jsent darkness, and made the land dark;
they kdid not rebel3 against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
and lcaused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in mthe chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came nswarms of flies,
oand gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery plightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and qshattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the rlocusts came,
young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He sstruck down all the firstborn in their land,
sthe firstfruits of all their strength.
37 Then he brought out Israel with tsilver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 uEgypt was glad when they departed,
for vdread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He wspread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 xThey asked, and he ybrought quail,
and gave them zbread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and awater gushed out;
it flowed through bthe desert like a river.
42 For he cremembered his holy promise,
and dAbraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his dchosen ones with esinging.
44 And he fgave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,
45 that they might gkeep his statutes
and hobserve his laws.
iPraise the Lord!
