Category: 1 Chronicles

[12:19] Some soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David's side when he was marching out with the Philistines to fight King Saul. Actually he did not help the Philistines, for their kings were afraid that he would betray them to his former master Saul, so they sent him back to Ziklag.

[12:20] These are the soldiers from Manasseh who went over to David's side when he was returning: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. In Manasseh they had all commanded units of a thousand men.

[12:21] They served David as officers over his troops, because they were all outstanding soldiers. Later they were officers in the Israelite army.

[12:22] Almost every day new men joined David's forces, so that his army was soon enormous.

[12:22] Judah: 6,800 well-equipped men, armed with shields and spears; Simeon: 7,100 well-trained men; Levi: 4,600 men; – Followers of Jehoiada, descendant of Aaron: 3,700 men; – Relatives of Zadok, an able young fighter: 22 leading men; Benjamin (Saul's own tribe): 3,000 men (most of the people of Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul); Ephraim: 20,800 men famous in their own clans; West Manasseh: 18,000 men chosen to go and make David king; Issachar: 200 leaders, together with the men under their command (these leaders knew what Israel should do and the best time to do it); Zebulun: 50,000 loyal and reliable men ready to fight, trained to use all kinds of weapons; Naphtali: 1,000 leaders, together with 37,000 men armed with shields and spears; Dan: 28,600 trained men; Asher: 40,000 men ready for battle; Tribes east of the Jordan—Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh: 120,000 men trained to use all kinds of weapons.

[12:38] All these soldiers, ready for battle, went to Hebron, determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose.

[12:39] They spent three days there with David, feasting on the food and drink which their relatives had prepared for them.

[12:40] From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, people came bringing donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded with food—flour, figs, raisins, wine, and olive oil. They also brought cattle and sheep to kill and eat. All this was an expression of the joy that was felt throughout the whole country.

[13:1] King David consulted with all the officers in command of units of a thousand men and units of a hundred men.

[13:2] Then he announced to all the people of Israel, “If you give your approval and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messengers to the rest of our people and to the priests and Levites in their towns, and tell them to assemble here with us.

[13:3] Then we will go and get God's Covenant Box, which was ignored while Saul was king.”

[13:4] The people were pleased with the suggestion and agreed to it.

[13:5] So David assembled the people of Israel from all over the country, from the Egyptian border in the south to Hamath Pass in the north, in order to bring the Covenant Box from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem.

[13:6] David and the people went to the city of Baalah, that is, to Kiriath Jearim, in the territory of Judah, to get the Covenant Box of God, which bears the name of the Lord enthroned above the winged creatures.

[13:7] At Abinadab's house they brought out the Covenant Box and put it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio guided the cart,

[13:8] while David and all the people danced with all their might to honor God. They sang and played musical instruments—harps, drums, cymbals, and trumpets.

[13:9] As they came to the threshing place of Chidon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box.

[13:10] At once the Lord became angry with Uzzah and killed him for touching the Box. He died there in God's presence,

[13:11] and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah ever since. David was furious because the Lord had punished Uzzah in anger.

[13:12] Then David was afraid of God and said, “How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?”

[13:13] So David did not take it with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he left it at the house of a man named Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath.

[13:14] It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom's family and everything that belonged to him.

[14:1] King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace.

[14:2] And so David realized that the Lord had established him as king of Israel and was making his kingdom prosperous for the sake of his people.

[14:3] There in Jerusalem, David married more wives and had more sons and daughters.

[14:4] The following children were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,

[14:5] Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,

[14:6] Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,

[14:7] Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

[14:8] When the Philistines heard that David had now been made king over the whole country of Israel, their army went out to capture him. So David marched out to meet them.

[14:9] The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and began plundering.

[14:10] David asked God, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?” The Lord answered, “Yes, attack! I will give you the victory!”

[14:11] So David attacked them at Baal Perazim and defeated them. He said, “God has used me to break through the enemy army like a flood.” So that place is called Baal Perazim.

[14:12] When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David gave orders for them to be burned.

[14:13] Soon the Philistines returned to the valley and started plundering it again.

[14:14] Once more David consulted God, who answered, “Don't attack them from here, but go around and get ready to attack them from the other side, near the balsam trees.

[14:15] When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, then attack, because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.”

[14:16] David did what God had commanded, and so he drove the Philistines back from Gibeon all the way to Gezer.

[14:17] David's fame spread everywhere, and the Lord made every nation afraid of him.

[15:1] For his own use, David built houses in David's City. He also prepared a place for God's Covenant Box and put up a tent for it.

[15:2] Then he said, “Only Levites should carry the Covenant Box, because they are the ones the Lord chose to carry it and to serve him forever.”

[15:3] So David summoned all the people of Israel to Jerusalem in order to bring the Covenant Box to the place he had prepared for it.

[15:4] Next he sent for the descendants of Aaron and for the Levites.

[15:5] From the Levite clan of Kohath came Uriel, in charge of 120 members of his clan;

[15:6] from the clan of Merari came Asaiah, in charge of 220;

[15:7] from the clan of Gershon, Joel, in charge of 130;

[15:8] from the clan of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, in charge of 200;

[15:9] from the clan of Hebron, Eliel, in charge of 80;

[15:10] and from the clan of Uzziel, Amminadab, in charge of 112.

[15:11] David called in the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the six Levites, Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

[15:12] He said to the Levites, “You are the leaders of the Levite clans. Purify yourselves and your fellow Levites, so that you can bring the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.

[15:13] Because you were not there to carry it the first time, the Lord our God punished us for not worshiping him as we should have done.”

[15:14] Then the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to move the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel.

[15:15] The Levites carried it on poles on their shoulders, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

[15:16] David commanded the leaders of the Levites to assign various Levites to sing and to play joyful music on harps and cymbals. To play the low-pitched harps they chose the following Levites: Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Azaziah, and the Temple guards, Obed Edom and Jeiel.

[15:22] Because of his skill in music Chenaniah was chosen to be in charge of the levitical musicians.

[16:8] Give thanks to the Lord, proclaim his greatness; tell the nations what he has done.

[16:9] Sing praise to the Lord; tell the wonderful things he has done.

[16:10] Be glad that we belong to him; let all who worship him rejoice!

[16:11] Go to the Lord for help, and worship him continually. descendants of Israel, whom God chose, remember the miracles that God performed and the judgments that he gave.

[16:14] The Lord is our God; his commands are for all the world.

[16:15] Never forget God's covenant, which he made to last forever,

[16:16] the covenant he made with Abraham, the promise he made to Isaac.

[16:17] The Lord made a covenant with Jacob, one that will last forever.

[16:18] “I will give you the land of Canaan,” he said. “It will be your own possession.”

[16:19] God's people were few in number, strangers in the land of Canaan.

[16:20] They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to another.

[16:21] But God let no one oppress them; to protect them, he warned the kings:

[16:22] “Don't harm my chosen servants; do not touch my prophets.”

[16:23] Sing to the Lord, all the world! Proclaim every day the good news that he has saved us.

[16:24] Proclaim his glory to the nations, his mighty deeds to all peoples.

[16:25] The Lord is great and is to be highly praised; he is to be honored more than all the gods.

[16:26] The gods of all other nations are only idols, but the Lord created the heavens.

[16:27] Glory and majesty surround him, power and joy fill his Temple.

[16:28] Praise the Lord, all people on earth, praise his glory and might.

[16:29] Praise the Lord's glorious name; bring an offering and come into his Temple. Bow down before the Holy One when he appears;

[16:30] tremble before him, all the earth! The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved.

[16:31] Be glad, earth and sky! Tell the nations that the Lord is king.

[16:32] Roar, sea, and every creature in you; be glad, fields, and everything in you!

[16:33] The trees in the woods will shout for joy when the Lord comes to rule the earth.

[16:34] Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal.

[16:35] Say to him, “Save us, O God our Savior; gather us together; rescue us from the nations, so that we may be thankful and praise your holy name.”

[16:36] Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! Praise him now and forever! Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

[16:37] King David put Asaph and the other Levites in permanent charge of the worship that was held at the place where the Covenant Box was kept. They were to perform their duties there day by day.

[16:38] Obed Edom son of Jeduthun and sixty-eight men of his clan were to assist them. Hosah and Obed Edom were in charge of guarding the gates.

[16:39] Zadok the priest and his fellow priests, however, were in charge of the worship of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon.

[16:40] Every morning and evening they were to burn sacrifices whole on the altar in accordance with what was written in the Law which the Lord gave to Israel.

[16:41] There with them were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who were specifically chosen to sing praises to the Lord for his eternal love.

[16:42] Heman and Jeduthun also had charge of the trumpets and cymbals and the other instruments which were played when the songs of praise were sung. The members of Jeduthun's clan were in charge of guarding the gates.

[16:43] Then everyone went home, and David went home to spend some time with his family.

[17:1] King David was now living in his palace. One day he sent for the prophet Nathan and said to him, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but the Lord's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!”

[17:2] Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because God is with you.”

[17:3] But that night God said to Nathan,

[17:4] “Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in.

[17:5] From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now I have never lived in a temple; I have always lived in tents and moved from place to place.

[17:6] In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’

[17:7] “So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel.

[17:8] I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world.

[17:11] When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong.

[17:12] He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever.

[17:13] I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king.

[17:14] I will put him in charge of my people and my kingdom forever. His dynasty will never end.’”

[17:15] Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.