1 Chronicles 16; 1 Chronicles 17; 1 Chronicles 18; John 7:28-53

1 Chronicles 16

1 They brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God's presence.

2 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

3 Then he distributed to each and every Israelite, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake.

4 David appointed some of the Levites to be ministers before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate the Lord God of Israel, and to give thanks and praise to Him.

5 Asaph was the chief and Zechariah was second to him. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel played the harps and lyres, while Asaph [sounded] the cymbals

6 and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel [blew] the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

7 On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the Lord by Asaph and his relatives:

8 Give thanks to the Lord; call on His name; proclaim His deeds among the peoples.

9 Sing to Him; sing praise to Him; tell about all His wonderful works!

10 Honor His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

11 Search for the Lord and for His strength; seek His face always.

12 Remember the wonderful works He has done, His wonders, and the judgments He has pronounced,

13 you offspring of Israel His servant, Jacob's descendants-His chosen ones.

14 He is the Lord our God; His judgments [govern] the whole earth.

15 Remember His covenant forever- the promise He ordained for a thousand generations,

16 [the covenant] He made with Abraham, swore to Isaac,

17 and confirmed to Jacob as a decree, and to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

18 "I will give the land of Canaan to you as your inherited portion."

19 When they were few in number, very few indeed, and temporary residents in Canaan

20 wandering from nation to nation and from one kingdom to another,

21 He allowed no one to oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:

22 "Do not touch My anointed ones or harm My prophets."

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Proclaim His salvation from day to day.

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

25 For the Lord is great and is highly praised; He is feared above all gods.

26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

27 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place.

28 Ascribe to the Lord, families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of [His] holiness;

30 tremble before Him, all the earth. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.

31 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, "The Lord is King!"

32 Let the sea and everything in it resound; let the fields and all that is in them exult.

33 Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth.

34 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.

35 And say: "Save us, God of our salvation; gather us and rescue us from the nations so that we may give thanks to Your holy name and rejoice in Your praise.

36 May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised from everlasting to everlasting." Then all the people said, "Amen" and "Praise the Lord."

37 So David left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the Lord's covenant to minister regularly before the ark according to the daily requirements.

38 [He also left] Obed-edom and his 68 relatives. Obed-edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah were to be gatekeepers.

39 [David left] Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon

40 to offer burnt offerings regularly, morning and evening, to the Lord on the altar of burnt offerings and to do everything that was written in the law of the Lord, which He had commanded Israel to keep.

41 With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord-for His faithful love endures forever.

42 Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals to play and musical instruments of God. Jeduthun's sons were at the gate.

43 Then all the people left for their homes, and David returned [home] to bless his household.

1 Chronicles 17

1 When David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Look! I am living in a cedar house while the ark of the Lord's covenant is under tent curtains."

2 So Nathan told David, "Do all that is on your heart, for God is with you."

3 But that night the word of God came to Nathan:

4 "Go to David My servant and say, 'This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build Me a house to dwell in.

5 From the time I brought Israel out of [Egypt] until today I have not lived in a house; instead, I have moved from tent to tent and from tabernacle [to tabernacle].

6 In all My travels throughout Israel, have I ever spoken a word to even one of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, asking: Why haven't you built Me a house of cedar?'

7 "Now this is what you will say to My servant David: 'This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.

8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a name for you like that of the greatest in the land.

9 I will establish a place for My people Israel and plant them, so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. Evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they formerly have

10 ever since the day I ordered judges to be over My people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies. " 'Furthermore, I declare to you that the Lord Himself will build a house for you.

11 When your time comes to be with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, who is one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.

12 He will build a house for Me, and I will establish his throne forever.

13 I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me. I will not take away My faithful love from him as I took it from the one who was before you.

14 I will appoint him over My house and My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever.' "

15 Nathan recounted all these words and this entire vision to David.

16 Then King David went in, sat in the Lord's presence, and said, "Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?

17 This was a little thing to You, God, for You have spoken about Your servant's house in the distant future. You regard me as a man of distinction, Lord God.

18 What more can David say to You for honoring Your servant? You know Your servant.

19 Lord, You have done all this greatness, making known all these great [promises] because of Your servant and according to Your will.

20 Lord, there is no one like You, and there is no God besides You, as all we have heard confirms.

21 And who is like Your people Israel? God, You came to one nation on earth to redeem a people for Yourself, to make a name for Yourself through great and awesome deeds by driving out nations before Your people You redeemed from Egypt.

22 You made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, have become their God.

23 "Now, Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house be confirmed forever, and do as You have promised.

24 Let your name be confirmed and magnified forever in the saying, 'The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, is God over Israel.' May the house of Your servant David be established before You.

25 Since You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house, Your servant has found [courage] to pray in Your presence.

26 Lord, You indeed are God, and You have promised this good thing to Your servant.

27 So now, You have been pleased to bless Your servant's house that it may continue before You forever. For You, Lord, have blessed it, and it is blessed forever."

1 Chronicles 18

1 After this, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its villages from Philistine control.

2 He also defeated the Moabites, and they became David's subjects and brought tribute.

3 David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah at Hamath when he went to establish his control at the Euphrates River.

4 David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers from him and hamstrung all the horses, and he kept 100 chariots.

5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to assist King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 Aramean men.

6 Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became David's subjects and brought tribute. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

7 David took the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officers and brought them to Jerusalem.

8 From Tibhath and Cun, Hadadezer's cities, David also took huge quantities of bronze, from which Solomon made the bronze reservoir, the pillars, and the bronze articles.

9 When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah,

10 he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Tou and Hadadezer had fought many wars. [Hadoram brought] all kinds of items of gold, silver, and bronze.

11 King David also dedicated these to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all the nations-from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.

12 Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

13 He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

14 So David reigned over all Israel, administering justice and righteousness for all his people.

15 Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was court historian;

16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was court secretary;

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

John 7:28-53

28 As He was teaching in the temple complex, Jesus cried out, "You know Me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on My own, but the One who sent Me is true. You don't know Him;

29 I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent Me."

30 Then they tried to seize Him. Yet no one laid a hand on Him because His hour had not yet come.

31 However, many from the crowd believed in Him and said, "When the Messiah comes, He won't perform more signs than this man has done, will He?"

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple police to arrest Him.

33 Then Jesus said, "I am only with you for a short time. Then I'm going to the One who sent Me.

34 You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come."

35 Then the Jews said to one another, "Where does He intend to go so we won't find Him? He doesn't intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does He?

36 What is this remark He made: 'You will look for Me, and you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come' ?"

37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink!

38 The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him."

39 He said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been received, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

40 When some from the crowd heard these words, they said, "This really is the Prophet!"

41 Others said, "This is the Messiah!" But some said, "Surely the Messiah doesn't come from Galilee, does He?

42 Doesn't the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David's offspring and from the town of Bethlehem, where David once lived?"

43 So a division occurred among the crowd because of Him.

44 Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

45 Then the temple police came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why haven't you brought Him?"

46 The police answered, "No man ever spoke like this!"

47 Then the Pharisees responded to them: "Are you fooled too?

48 Have any of the rulers believed in Him? Or any of the Pharisees?

49 But this crowd, which doesn't know the law, is accursed!"

50 Nicodemus-the one who came to Him previously, being one of them-said to them,

51 "Our law doesn't judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he's doing, does it?"

52 "You aren't from Galilee too, are you?" they replied. "Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee." [

53 So each one went to his house.