The Daily Audio Bible
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The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
15 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, U′riel the chief, with a hundred and twenty of his brethren; 6 of the sons of Merar′i, Asa′iah 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 U′riel, Asa′iah, 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,[a] 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, Bena′iah, Ma-ase′iah, Mattithi′ah, Eliph′elehu, and Mikne′iah, 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-ase′iah, and Bena′iah were to play harps according to Al′amoth; 21 but Mattithi′ah, Eliph′elehu, Mikne′iah, 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, Bena′iah, 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.
The Ark Placed in the Tent
16 And they brought in 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,[b] 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, Bena′iah, O′bed-e′dom, and Je-i′el, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Bena′iah 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 Guilt of Mankind
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; 21 for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct. 29 They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
10 Why dost thou stand afar off, O Lord?
Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes which they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart,
and the man greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his countenance the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
thy judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He thinks in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the hapless,
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in his covert;
he lurks that he may seize the poor,
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The hapless is crushed, sinks down,
and falls by his might.
11 He thinks in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thy hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God,
and say in his heart, “Thou wilt not call to account”?
14 Thou dost see; yea, thou dost note trouble and vexation,
that thou mayst take it into thy hands;
the hapless commits himself to thee;
thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
6 Many seek the favor of a generous man,
and every one is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
7 All a poor man’s brothers hate him;
how much more do his friends go far from him!
He pursues them with words, but does not have them.[a]
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.