The Daily Audio Bible

Regular Worship Maintained

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^[a] 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

17 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.

David’s Prayer

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,^[b] 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^[c] 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.”

David’s Kingdom Established and Extended

18 After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its villages out of the hand of the Philistines.

² And he defeated Moab, and the Mo′abites became servants to David and brought tribute.

³ David also defeated Hadade′zer king of Zobah, toward Hamath, as he went to set up his monument^[d] at the river Euphra′tes. ⁴ And David took from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for a hundred chariots. ⁵ And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadade′zer king of Zobah, David slew twenty-two thousand men of the Syrians. ⁶ Then David put garrisons^[e] in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. ⁷ And David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadade′zer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadade′zer, David took very much bronze; with it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.

⁹ When To′u king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadade′zer, king of Zobah, ¹⁰ he sent his son Hador′am to King David, to greet him, and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadade′zer and defeated him; for Hadade′zer had often been at war with To′u. And he sent all sorts of articles of gold, of silver, and of bronze; ¹¹ these also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Am′alek.

¹² And Abi′shai, the son of Zeru′iah, slew eighteen thousand E′domites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the E′domites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

David’s Administration

¹⁴ So David reigned over all Israel; and he administered justice and equity to all his people. ¹⁵ And Jo′ab the son of Zeru′iah was over the army; and Jehosh′aphat the son of Ahi′lud was recorder; ¹⁶ and Zadok the son of Ahi′tub and Ahim′elech the son of Abi′athar were priests; and Shavsha was secretary; ¹⁷ and Bena′iah the son of Jehoi′ada was over the Cher′ethites and the Pel′ethites; and David’s sons were the chief officials in the service of the king.

The Righteous Judgment of God

2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, whoever you are, when you judge another; for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. ² We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who do such things. ³ Do you suppose, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶ For he will render to every man according to his works: ⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For God shows no partiality.

¹² All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them ¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and rely upon the law and boast of your relation to God ¹⁸ and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed in the law, ¹⁹ and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹ you then who teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴ For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”