The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

151 David built houses for himself in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, "No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him for ever." 3 And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. 4 And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uri'el the chief, with a hundred and twenty of his brethren; 6 of the sons of Merar'i, Asai'ah the chief, with two hundred and twenty of his brethren; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Jo'el the chief, with a hundred and thirty of his brethren; 8 of the sons of Eli-za'phan, Shemai'ah the chief, with two hundred of his brethren; 9 of the sons of Hebron, Eli'el the chief, with eighty of his brethren; 10 of the sons of Uz'ziel, Ammin'adab the chief, with a hundred and twelve of his brethren. 11 Then David summoned the priests Zadok and Abi'athar, and the Levites Uri'el, Asai'ah, Jo'el, Shemai'ah, Eli'el, and Ammin'adab, 12 and said to them, "You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke forth upon us, because we did not care for it in the way that is ordained." 14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God upon their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. 16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brethren as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Jo'el; and of his brethren Asaph the son of Berechi'ah; and of the sons of Merar'i, their brethren, Ethan the son of Kusha'iah; 18 and with them their brethren of the second order, Zechari'ah, Ja-a'ziel, Shemi'ramoth, Jehi'el, Unni, Eli'ab, Benai'ah, Ma-asei'ah, Mattithi'ah, Eliph'elehu, and Miknei'ah, and the gatekeepers O'bed-e'dom and Je-i'el. 19 The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals; 20 Zechari'ah, A'zi-el, Shemi'ramoth, Jehi'el, Unni, Eli'ab, Ma-asei'ah, and Benai'ah were to play harps according to Al'amoth; 21 but Mattithi'ah, Eliph'elehu, Miknei'ah, O'bed-e'dom, Je-i'el, and Azazi'ah were to lead with lyres according to the Shem'inith. 22 Chenani'ah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. 23 Berechi'ah and Elka'nah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24 Shebani'ah, Josh'aphat, Nethan'el, Ama'sai, Zechari'ah, Benai'ah, and Elie'zer, the priests, should blow the trumpets before the ark of God. O'bed-e'dom and Jehi'ah also were to be gatekeepers for the ark.

25 So 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 O'bed-e'dom with rejoicing. 26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven 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 Chenani'ah 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, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps 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 making merry; and she despised him in her heart.

161 And they brought the ark of God, and set it inside the tent which 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, and a cake of raisins. 4 Moreover he appointed certain 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 Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechari'ah, Je-i'el, Shemi'ramoth, Jehi'el, Mattithi'ah, Eli'ab, Benai'ah, O'bed-e'dom, and Je-i'el, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benai'ah and Jaha'ziel the priests were to blow trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.

David's Psalm of Thanksgiving

7 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brethren. 8 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to him, sing praises to him, tell of all his wonderful works! 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually! 12 Remember the wonderful works that he has done, the wonders he wrought, the judgments he uttered, 13 O offspring of Abraham his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! 14 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 15 He is mindful of his covenant for ever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 16 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 17 which he confirmed as a statute to Jacob, as an everlasting covenant to Israel, 18 saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance." 19 When they were few in number, and of little account, and sojourners in it, 20 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, 21 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, 22 saying, "Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!" 23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols; but the Lord made the heavens. 27 Honor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. 28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come before him! Worship the Lord in holy array; 30 tremble before him, all the earth; yea, the world stands firm, never to be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!" 32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it, let the field exult, and everything in it! 33 Then shall the trees of the wood sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. 34 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! 35 Say also: "Deliver us, O God of our salvation, and gather and save us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise. 36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!" Then all the people said "Amen!" and praised the Lord.

The Levites Appointed for the Ark

37 So David left Asaph and his brethren there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister continually before the ark as each day required, 38 and also O'bed-e'dom and his sixty-eight brethren; while O'bed-e'dom, the son of Jedu'thun, and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. 39 And he left Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon, 40 to offer burnt offerings to the Lord upon the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, according to all that is written in the law of the Lord which he commanded Israel. 41 With them were Heman and Jedu'thun, and the rest of those chosen and expressly named to give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures for ever. 42 Heman and Jedu'thun had trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jedu'thun were appointed to the gate. 43 Then all the people departed each to his house, and David went home to bless his household.

God's Covenant with David

171 Now when David dwelt in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, "Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent." 2 And Nathan said to David, "Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you." 3 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 4 "Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the Lord: You shall not build me a house to dwell in. 5 For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I led up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. 6 In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' 7 Now therefore thus shall you say to my servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel; 8 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, 10 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. 11 When your days are fulfilled to go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne for ever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son; I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom for ever and his throne shall be established for ever.'" 15 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? 17 And this was a small thing in thy eyes, O God; thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast shown me future generations, O Lord God! 18 And what more can David say to thee for honoring thy servant? For thou knowest thy servant. 19 For thy servant's sake, O Lord, and according to thy own heart, thou hast wrought all this greatness, in making known all these great things. 20 There is none like thee, O Lord, and there is no God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 What other nation on earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his people, making for thyself a name for great and terrible things, in driving out nations before thy people whom thou didst redeem from Egypt? 22 And thou didst make thy people Israel to be thy people for ever; and thou, O Lord, didst become their God. 23 And now, O Lord, let the word which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast spoken; 24 and thy name will be established and magnified for ever, saying, 'The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, is Israel's God,' and the house of thy servant David will be established before thee. 25 For thou, my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build a house for him; therefore thy servant has found courage to pray before thee. 26 And now, O Lord, thou art God, and thou hast promised this good thing to thy servant; 27 now therefore may it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for what thou, O Lord, hast blessed is blessed for ever."