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37 David arranged for Asaph and his fellow Levites to minister regularly at the Tabernacle,[a] doing each day whatever needed to be done. 38 This group included Obed-edom (the son of Jeduthun), Hosah, and sixty-eight of their colleagues as guards.
39 Meanwhile the old Tabernacle of the Lord on the hill of Gibeon continued to be active. David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests to minister to the Lord there. 40 They sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord each morning and evening upon the altar set aside for that purpose, just as the Lord had commanded Israel. 41 David also appointed Heman, Jeduthun, and several others who were chosen by name to give thanks to the Lord for his constant love and mercy. 42 They used their trumpets and cymbals to accompany the singers with loud praises to God. And Jeduthun’s sons were appointed as guards.
43 At last the celebration ended and the people returned to their homes, and David returned to bless his own household.
17 After David had been living in his new palace for some time he said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I’m living here in a cedar-paneled home while the Ark of the Covenant of God is out there in a tent!”
2 And Nathan replied, “Carry out your plan in every detail, for it is the will of the Lord.”
3 But that same night God said to Nathan, 4 “Go and give my servant David this message: ‘You are not to build my temple! 5 I’ve gone from tent to tent as my home from the time I brought Israel out of Egypt. 6 In all that time I never suggested to any of the leaders of Israel—the shepherds I appointed to care for my people—that they should build me a cedar-lined temple.’
7 “Tell my servant David, ‘The Lord of heaven says to you, I took you from being a shepherd and made you the king of my people. 8 And I have been with you everywhere you’ve gone; I have destroyed your enemies, and I will make your name as great as the greatest of the earth. 9 And I will give a permanent home to my people Israel and will plant them in their land. They will not be disturbed again; the wicked nations won’t conquer them as they did before 10 when the judges ruled them. I will subdue all of your enemies. And I now declare that I will cause your descendants to be kings of Israel just as you are.
11 “‘When your time here on earth is over and you die, I will place one of your sons upon your throne; and I will make his kingdom strong. 12 He is the one who shall build me a temple, and I will establish his royal line of descent forever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son; I will never remove my mercy and love from him as I did from Saul. 14 I will place him over my people and over the kingdom of Israel forever—and his descendants will always be kings.’”
15 So Nathan told King David everything the Lord had said.
16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family that you have given me all this? 17 For all the great things you have already done for me are nothing in comparison to what you have promised to do in the future! For now, O Lord God, you are speaking of future generations of my children being kings too! You speak as though I were someone very great. 18 What else can I say? You know that I am but a dog, yet you have decided to honor me! 19 O Lord, you have given me these wonderful promises just because you want to be kind to me, because of your own great heart. 20 O Lord, there is no one like you—there is no other God. In fact, we have never even heard of another god like you!
21 “And what other nation in all the earth is like Israel? You have made a unique nation and have redeemed it from Egypt so that the people could be your people. And you made a great name for yourself when you did glorious miracles in driving out the nations from before your people. 22 You have declared that your people Israel belong to you forever, and you have become their God.
23 “And now I accept your promise, Lord, that I and my children will always rule this nation. 24 And may this bring eternal honor to your name as everyone realizes that you always do what you say. They will exclaim, ‘The Lord of heaven is indeed the God of Israel!’ And Israel shall always be ruled by my children and their posterity! 25 Now I have the courage to pray to you, for you have revealed this to me. 26 God himself has promised this good thing to me! 27 May this blessing rest upon my children forever, for when you grant a blessing, Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”
18 David finally subdued the Philistines and conquered Gath and its surrounding towns. 2 He also conquered Moab and required its people to send him a large sum of money every year. 3 He conquered the dominion of King Hadadezer of Zobah (as far as Hamath) at the time Hadadezer went to tighten his grip along the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand troops. He crippled all the chariot teams except a hundred that he kept for his own use.
5 When the Syrians arrived from Damascus to help King Hadadezer, David killed twenty-two thousand of them; 6 then he placed a garrison of his troops in Damascus, the Syrian capital. So the Syrians, too, were forced to send him large amounts of money every year. And the Lord gave David victory everywhere he went. 7 He brought the gold shields of King Hadadezer’s officers to Jerusalem, 8 as well as a great amount of bronze from Hadadezer’s cities of Tibhath and Cun. (King Solomon later melted the bronze and used it for the Temple. He molded it into the bronze tank, the pillars, and the instruments used in offering sacrifices on the altar.)
9 When King Tou of Hamath learned that King David had destroyed Hadadezer’s army, 10 he sent his son Hadoram to greet and congratulate King David on his success and to present him with many gifts of gold, silver, and bronze, seeking an alliance. For Hadadezer and Tou had been enemies and there had been many wars between them. 11 King David dedicated these gifts to the Lord, as he did the silver and gold he took from the nations of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, and the Philistines.
12 Abishai (son of Zeruiah) then destroyed eighteen thousand Edomites in Salt Valley. 13 He put garrisons in Edom and forced the Edomites to pay large sums of money annually to David. This is just another example of how the Lord gave David victory after victory. 14 David reigned over all of Israel and was a just ruler.
15 Joab (son of Zeruiah) was commander-in-chief of the army; Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud) was the historian; 16 Zadok (son of Ahitub) and Ahimelech (son of Abiathar) were the head priests; Shavsha was the king’s special assistant;[b] 17 Benaiah (son of Jehoiada) was in charge of the king’s bodyguard—the Cherethites and Pelethites—and David’s sons were his chief aides.
2 “Well,” you may be saying, “what terrible people you have been talking about!” But wait a minute! You are just as bad. When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are talking about yourselves, for you do these very same things. 2 And we know that God, in justice, will punish anyone who does such things as these. 3 Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing them and overlook you when you do them, too? 4 Don’t you realize how patient he is being with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see that he has been waiting all this time without punishing you, to give you time to turn from your sin? His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.
5 But no, you won’t listen; and so you are saving up terrible punishment for yourselves because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin; for there is going to come a day of wrath when God will be the just Judge of all the world. 6 He will give each one whatever his deeds deserve. 7 He will give eternal life to those who patiently do the will of God,[a] seeking for the unseen glory and honor and eternal life that he offers. 8 But he will terribly punish those who fight against the truth of God and walk in evil ways—God’s anger will be poured out upon them. 9 There will be sorrow and suffering for Jews and Gentiles alike who keep on sinning. 10 But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who obey him,[b] whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 11 For God treats everyone the same.
12-15 He will punish sin wherever it is found. He will punish the heathen when they sin, even though they never had God’s written laws, for down in their hearts they know right from wrong. God’s laws are written within them; their own conscience accuses them, or sometimes excuses them. And God will punish the Jews for sinning because they have his written laws but don’t obey them. They know what is right but don’t do it. After all, salvation is not given to those who know what to do, unless they do it. 16 The day will surely come when at God’s command Jesus Christ will judge the secret lives of everyone, their inmost thoughts and motives; this is all part of God’s great plan, which I proclaim.
17 You Jews think all is well between yourselves and God because he gave his laws to you;[c] you brag that you are his special friends. 18 Yes, you know what he wants; you know right from wrong and favor the right because you have been taught his laws from earliest youth. 19 You are so sure of the way to God that you could point it out to a blind man. You think of yourselves as beacon lights, directing men who are lost in darkness to God. 20 You think that you can guide the simple and teach even children the affairs of God, for you really know his laws, which are full of all knowledge and truth.
21 Yes, you teach others—then why don’t you teach yourselves? You tell others not to steal—do you steal? 22 You say it is wrong to commit adultery—do you do it? You say “Don’t pray to idols” and then make money your god instead.[d]
23 You are so proud of knowing God’s laws, but you dishonor him by breaking them. 24 No wonder the Scriptures say that the world speaks evil of God because of you.
16 The Lord is King forever and forever. Those who follow other gods shall be swept from his land.
17 Lord, you know the hopes of humble people. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort their hearts by helping them. 18 You will be with the orphans and all who are oppressed, so that mere earthly man will terrify them no longer.
8 He who loves wisdom loves his own best interest and will be a success.
9 A false witness shall be punished, and a liar shall be caught.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.