2 Samuel 5; 2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13; 1 Chronicles 14; 1 Chronicles 15; 1 Chronicles 16

1 Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and said to him, "We are your own flesh and blood.

2 In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the Lord promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler."

3 So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel.

4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he ruled for forty years.

5 He ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven and a half years, and in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.

6 The time came when King David and his men set out to attack Jerusalem. The Jebusites, who lived there, thought that David would not be able to conquer the city, and so they said to him, "You will never get in here; even the blind and the crippled could keep you out."

7 (But David did capture their fortress of Zion, and it became known as "David's City.")

8 That day David said to his men, "Does anybody here hate the Jebusites as much as I do? Enough to kill them? Then go up through the water tunnel and attack those poor blind cripples." (That is why it is said, "The blind and the crippled cannot enter the Lord's house.")

9 After capturing the fortress, David lived in it and named it "David's City." He built the city around it, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill.

10 He grew stronger all the time, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

11 King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with carpenters and stone masons to build a palace.

12 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.

13 After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David took more concubines and wives, and had more sons and daughters.

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

15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia,

16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

17 The Philistines were told that David had been made king of Israel, so their army set out to capture him. When David heard of it, he went down to a fortified place.

18 The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and occupied it.

19 David asked the Lord, "Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?" "Yes, attack!" the Lord answered. "I will give you the victory!"

20 So David went to Baal Perazim and there he defeated the Philistines. He said, "The Lord has broken through my enemies like a flood." And so that place is called Baal Perazim.

21 When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David and his men carried them away.

22 Then the Philistines went back to Rephaim Valley and occupied it again.

23 Once more David consulted the Lord, 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.

24 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."

25 David did what the Lord had commanded, and was able to drive the Philistines back from Geba all the way to Gezer.

1 Once more David called together the best soldiers in Israel, a total of thirty thousand men,

2 and led them to Baalah in Judah, in order to bring from there God's Covenant Box, bearing the name of the Lord Almighty, whose throne is above the winged creatures.

3 They took it from Abinadab's home on the hill and placed it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart,

4 with Ahio walking in front.

5 David and all the Israelites were dancing and singing with all their might to honor the Lord. They were playing harps, lyres, drums, rattles, and cymbals.

6 As they came to the threshing place of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box.

7 At once the Lord God became angry with Uzzah and killed him because of his irreverence. Uzzah died there beside the Covenant Box,

8 and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah ever since. David was furious because the Lord had punished Uzzah in anger.

9 Then David was afraid of the Lord and said, "How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?"

10 So he decided not to take it with him to Jerusalem; instead, he turned off the road and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath.

11 It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his family.

12 King David heard that because of the Covenant Box the Lord had blessed Obed Edom's family and all that he had; so he got the Covenant Box from Obed's house to take it to Jerusalem with a great celebration.

13 After the men carrying the Covenant Box had gone six steps, David had them stop while he offered the Lord a sacrifice of a bull and a fattened calf.

14 David, wearing only a linen cloth around his waist, danced with all his might to honor the Lord.

15 And so he and all the Israelites took the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and the sound of trumpets.

16 As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the sacred dance, and she was disgusted with him.

17 They brought the Box and put it in its place in the Tent that David had set up for it. Then he offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to the Lord.

18 When he had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty

19 and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat, and some raisins. Then everyone went home.

20 Afterward, when David went home to greet his family, Michal came out to meet him. "The king of Israel made a big name for himself today!" she said. "He exposed himself like a fool in the sight of the servant women of his officials!"

21 David answered, "I was dancing to honor the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and his family to make me the leader of his people Israel. And I will go on dancing to honor the Lord,

22 and will disgrace myself even more. You may think I am nothing, but those women will think highly of me!"

23 Michal, Saul's daughter, never had any children.

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

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.

3 Then we will go and get God's Covenant Box, which was ignored while Saul was king."

4 The people were pleased with the suggestion and agreed to it.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

12 Then David was afraid of God and said, "How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?"

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.

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

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.

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.

3 There in Jerusalem, David married more wives and had more sons and daughters.

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

5 Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,

6 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,

7 Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

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.

9 The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and began plundering.

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!"

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.

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

13 Soon the Philistines returned to the valley and started plundering it again.

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.

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."

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

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

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.

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."

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.

4 Next he sent for the descendants of Aaron and for the Levites.

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

6 from the clan of Merari came Asaiah, in charge of 220;

7 from the clan of Gershon, Joel, in charge of 130;

8 from the clan of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, in charge of 200;

9 from the clan of Hebron, Eliel, in charge of 80;

10 and from the clan of Uzziel, Amminadab, in charge of 112.

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

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.

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."

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

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

16 David commanded the leaders of the Levites to assign various Levites to sing and to play joyful music on harps and cymbals.

17 From the clans of singers they chose the following men to play the brass cymbals: Heman son of Joel, his relative Asaph son of Berechiah, and Ethan son of Kushaiah, of the clan of Merari. To assist them they chose the following Levites to play the high-pitched harps: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah. To play the low-pitched harps they chose the following Levites: Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Azaziah, and the Temple guards, Obed Edom and Jeiel.

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

23 Berechiah and Elkanah, along with Obed Edom and Jehiah, were chosen as guards for the Covenant Box. The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were chosen to blow trumpets in front of the Covenant Box.

25 So King David, the leaders of Israel, and the military commanders went to the house of Obed Edom to get the Covenant Box, and they had a great celebration.

26 They sacrificed seven bulls and seven sheep, to make sure that God would help the Levites who were carrying the Covenant Box.

27 David was wearing a robe made of the finest linen, and so were the musicians, Chenaniah their leader, and the Levites who carried the Box. David also wore a linen ephod.

28 So all the Israelites accompanied the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the sound of trumpets, horns, and cymbals, and the music of harps.

29 As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and leaping for joy, and she was disgusted with him.

1 They took the Covenant Box to the tent which David had prepared for it and put it inside. Then they offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to God.

2 After David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord

3 and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat, and some raisins.

4 David appointed some of the Levites to lead the worship of the Lord, the God of Israel, in front of the Covenant Box, by singing and praising him.

5 Asaph was appointed leader, with Zechariah as his assistant. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel were to play harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals,

6 and two priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, were to blow trumpets regularly in front of the Covenant Box.

7 It was then that David first gave Asaph and the other Levites the responsibility for singing praises to the Lord.

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

9 Sing praise to the Lord; tell the wonderful things he has done.

10 Be glad that we belong to him; let all who worship him rejoice!

11 Go to the Lord for help, and worship him continually.

12 You descendants of Jacob, God's servant, descendants of Israel, whom God chose, remember the miracles that God performed and the judgments that he gave.

14 The Lord is our God; his commands are for all the world.

15 Never forget God's covenant, which he made to last forever,

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

17 The Lord made a covenant with Jacob, one that will last forever.

18 "I will give you the land of Canaan," he said. "It will be your own possession."

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

20 They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to another.

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

22 "Don't harm my chosen servants; do not touch my prophets."

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

24 Proclaim his glory to the nations, his mighty deeds to all peoples.

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

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

27 Glory and majesty surround him, power and joy fill his Temple.

28 Praise the Lord, all people on earth, praise his glory and might.

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

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

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

32 Roar, sea, and every creature in you; be glad, fields, and everything in you!

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

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

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."

36 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! Praise him now and forever! Then all the people said, "Amen," and praised the Lord.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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