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1 Chronicles 15

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

 ³ David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. ⁴ He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

 ⁵ From the descendants of Kohath,
       Uriel the leader and 120 relatives;

 ⁶ from the descendants of Merari,
       Asaiah the leader and 220 relatives;

 ⁷ from the descendants of Gershon, ^[a]
       Joel the leader and 130 relatives;

 ⁸ from the descendants of Elizaphan,
       Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives;

 ⁹ from the descendants of Hebron,
       Eliel the leader and 80 relatives;

 ¹⁰ from the descendants of Uzziel,
       Amminadab the leader and 112 relatives.

 ¹¹ Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. ¹² He said to them, "You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³ It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way." ¹⁴ So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.

 ¹⁶ David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.

 ¹⁷ So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his brothers, Asaph son of Berekiah; and from their brothers the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸ and with them their brothers next in rank: Zechariah, ^[b] Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel, ^[c] the gatekeepers.

 ¹⁹ The musicians Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; ²⁰ Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to alamoth , ^{[d] 21} and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to play the harps, directing according to sheminith . ^{[e] 22} Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.

 ²³ Berekiah and Elkanah were to be doorkeepers for the ark. ²⁴ Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer the priests were to blow trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also to be doorkeepers for the ark.

 ²⁵ So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. ²⁶ Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. ²⁷ Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the singers, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouts, with the sounding of rams' horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.

 ²⁹ As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

1 Chronicles 16

 ¹ They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings ^[f] before God. ² After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. ³ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman.

 ⁴ He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph was the chief, Zechariah second, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶ and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

David's Psalm of Thanks

 ⁸ Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
       make known among the nations what he has done.

 ⁹ Sing to him, sing praise to him;
       tell of all his wonderful acts.

 ¹⁰ Glory in his holy name;
       let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

 ¹¹ Look to the LORD and his strength;
       seek his face always.

 ¹² Remember the wonders he has done,
       his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

 ¹³ O descendants of Israel his servant,
       O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.

 ¹⁴ He is the LORD our God;
       his judgments are in all the earth.

 ¹⁵ He remembers ^[g] his covenant forever,
       the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,

 ¹⁶ the covenant he made with Abraham,
       the oath he swore to Isaac.

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

 ¹⁸ "To you I will give the land of Canaan
       as the portion you will inherit."

 ¹⁹ When they were but few in number,
       few indeed, and strangers in it,

 ²⁰ they ^[h] wandered from nation to nation,
       from one kingdom to another.

 ²¹ He allowed no man to oppress them;
       for their sake he rebuked kings:

 ²² "Do not touch my anointed ones;
       do my prophets no harm."

 ²³ Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
       proclaim his salvation day after day.

 ²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations,
       his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

 ²⁵ For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
       he is to be feared above all gods.

 ²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols,
       but the LORD made the heavens.

 ²⁷ Splendor and majesty are before him;
       strength and joy in his dwelling place.

 ²⁸ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,
       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 the splendor of his ^[i] holiness.

 ³⁰ Tremble before him, all the earth!
       The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

 ³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
       let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"

 ³² Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
       let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

 ³³ Then the trees of the forest will sing,
       they will sing for joy before the LORD,
       for he comes to judge the earth.

 ³⁴ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
       his love endures forever.

 ³⁵ Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior;
       gather us and deliver us from the nations,
       that we may give thanks to your holy name,
       that we may glory in your praise."

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

 ³⁷ David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister there regularly, according to each day's requirements. ³⁸ He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun, and also Hosah, were 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 present burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering regularly, morning and evening, in accordance with everything written in the Law of the LORD, which he had given Israel. ⁴¹ With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD, "for his love endures forever." ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.

 ⁴³ Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family.

1 Chronicles 17

God's Promise to David

 ² Nathan replied to David, "Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you."

 ³ That night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

 ⁴ "Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. ⁵ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. ⁶ Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders ^[j] whom I commanded to shepherd my people, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" '

 ⁷ "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth. ⁹ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹⁰ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.
       " 'I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: ¹¹ When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴ I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.' "

 ¹⁵ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David's Prayer

 ¹⁸ "What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, ¹⁹ O LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.

 ²⁰ "There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. ²¹ And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? ²² You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.

 ²³ "And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, ²⁴ so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel's God!' And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

 ²⁵ "You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. ²⁶ O LORD, you are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁷ Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."

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1 Chronicles 21

David Numbers the Fighting Men

 ³ But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"

 ⁴ The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. ⁵ Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

 ⁶ But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. ⁷ This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

 ⁸ Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."

 ⁹ The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, ¹⁰ "Go and tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.' "

 ¹¹ So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Take your choice: ¹² three years of famine, three months of being swept away ^[a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD -days of plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."

 ¹³ David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

 ¹⁴ So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. ¹⁵ And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah ^[b] the Jebusite.

 ¹⁶ David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

 ¹⁷ David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."

 ¹⁸ Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁹ So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD.

 ²⁰ While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. ²¹ Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

 ²² David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."

 ²³ Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this."

 ²⁴ But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing."

 ²⁵ So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels ^[c] of gold for the site. ²⁶ David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. ^[d] He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

 ²⁷ Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. ²⁸ At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. ²⁹ The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. ³⁰ But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

1 Chronicles 22

 ¹ Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel."

Preparations for the Temple

 ⁵ David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it." So David made extensive preparations before his death.

 ⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. ⁸ But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. ⁹ But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, ^[e] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. ¹⁰ He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

 ¹¹ "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. ¹² May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. ¹³ Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

 ¹⁴ "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents ^[f] of gold, a million talents ^[g] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. ¹⁵ You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work ¹⁶ in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."

 ¹⁷ Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. ¹⁸ He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his people. ¹⁹ Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."

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1 Chronicles 28

David's Plans for the Temple

 ² King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. ³ But God said to me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'

 ⁴ "Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father's sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ Of all my sons—and the LORD has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. ⁶ He said to me: 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.'

 ⁸ "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.

 ⁹ "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰ Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."

 ¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. ¹² He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. ¹³ He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service. ¹⁴ He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service: ¹⁵ the weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand; ¹⁶ the weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷ the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish; ¹⁸ and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and shelter the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

 ¹⁹ "All this," David said, "I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan."

 ²⁰ David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. ²¹ The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command."

1 Chronicles 29

Gifts for Building the Temple

 ⁶ Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly. ⁷ They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents ^[d] and ten thousand darics ^[e] of gold, ten thousand talents ^[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents ^[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents ^[h] of iron. ⁸ Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David's Prayer

 ¹¹ Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
       and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
       for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
       Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
       you are exalted as head over all.

 ¹² Wealth and honor come from you;
       you are the ruler of all things.
       In your hands are strength and power
       to exalt and give strength to all.

 ¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks,
       and praise your glorious name.

 ¹⁴ "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. ¹⁵ We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. ¹⁶ O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. ¹⁸ O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. ¹⁹ And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided."

 ²⁰ Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king.

Solomon Acknowledged as King

 ²⁵ The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.

The Death of David

 ²⁹ As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, ³⁰ together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.