Day 106 of 365

¹They brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.

²When David had made an end of offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

³He dealt to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins.

⁴He appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord, the God of Israel:

⁵Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with stringed instruments and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud;

⁶and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.

⁷Then on that day David first ordained to give thanks to the Lord, by the hand of Asaph and his brothers.

⁸Oh give thanks to the Lord. Call on his name. Make his doings known among the peoples.

⁹Sing to him. Sing praises to him. Tell of all his marvelous works.

¹⁰Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

¹¹Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face forever more.

¹²Remember his marvelous works that he has done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,

¹³you seed of Israel his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth.

¹⁵Remember his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,

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

¹⁷He confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

¹⁸saying, "I will give you the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance,"

¹⁹when you were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners were in it.

²⁰They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.

²¹He allowed no man to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,

²²"Do not touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!"

²³Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Display his salvation from day to day.

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

²⁵For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods.

²⁶For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

²⁷Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and gladness are in his place.

²⁸Ascribe to the Lord, you relatives of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

²⁹Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship the Lord in holy array.

³⁰Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established that it can't be moved.

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

³²Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field exult, and all that is therein!

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

³⁴Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

³⁵Say, "Save us, God of our salvation! Gather us together and deliver us from the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise."

³⁶Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. All the people said, "Amen," and praised the Lord.

³⁷So he left there, before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, Asaph and his brothers, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required;

³⁸and Obed-Edom with their brothers, sixty-eight; Obed-Edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers;

³⁹and Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon,

⁴⁰to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded to Israel;

⁴¹and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because his loving kindness endures forever;

⁴²and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.

⁴³All the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.

¹It happened, when David lived in his house, that 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 curtains."

²Nathan said to David, "Do all that is in your heart; for God is with you."

³It happened the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying,

⁴"Go and tell David my servant, 'Thus says the Lord, "You shall not build me a house to dwell in;

⁵for I have not lived in a house since the day that I brought up Israel, to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tent to another.

⁶In all places in which I have walked with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people, saying, 'Why have you not built me a house of cedar?'"'

⁷"Now therefore, you shall tell my servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "I took you from the sheep pen, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

⁸I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make you a name, like the name of the great ones who are in the earth.

⁹I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first,

¹⁰and from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover I tell you that the Lord will build you a house.

¹¹It shall happen, when your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

¹²He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

¹³I will be his father, and he shall be my son. I will not take my loving kindness away from him, as I took it from him that was before you;

¹⁴but I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever. His throne shall be established forever."'"

¹⁵According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

¹⁶Then David the king went in, and sat before the Lord; and he said, "Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?

¹⁷This was a small thing in your eyes, God; but you have spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come, and have respected me according to the estate of a man of high degree, Lord God.

¹⁸What can David say yet more to you concerning the honor which is done to your servant? For you know your servant.

¹⁹Lord, for your servant's sake, and according to your own heart, you have worked all this greatness, to make known all these great things.

²⁰Lord, there is none like you, neither is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

²¹What one nation in the earth is like your people Israel, whom God went to redeem to himself for a people, to make you a name by great and awesome things, in driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeem out of Egypt?

²²For your people Israel you made your own people forever; and you, Lord, became their God.

²³Now, Lord, let the word that you have spoken concerning your servant, and concerning his house, be established forever, and do as you have spoken.

²⁴Let your name be established and magnified forever, saying, 'The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel. The house of David your servant is established before you.'

²⁵For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you.

²⁶Now, Lord, you are God, and have promised this good thing to your servant.

²⁷Now it has pleased you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you; for you, Lord, have blessed, and it is blessed forever."

¹After this it happened, that David struck the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines.

²He struck Moab; and the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.

³David struck Hadadezer king of Zobah to Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates.

⁴David took from him one thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for one hundred chariots.

⁵When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.

⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

⁷David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸From Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took very much brass, with which Solomon made the bronze sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.

⁹When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah,

¹⁰he sent Hadoram his son to king David, to Greet him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him; (for Hadadezer had wars with Tou;) and he had with him all kinds of vessels of gold and silver and brass.

¹¹King David also dedicated these to the Lord, with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

¹²Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah struck of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt eighteen thousand.

¹³He put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David. The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

¹⁴David reigned over all Israel; and he executed justice and righteousness to all his people.

¹⁵Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

¹⁶and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was scribe;

¹⁷and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.

¹It happened after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place.

²David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.

³But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, "Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Haven't his servants come to you to search, to overthrow, and to spy out the land?"

⁴So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵Then there went certain persons, and told David how the men were served. He sent to meet them; for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, "Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return."

⁶When the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Arammaacah, and out of Zobah.

⁷So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. The children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.

⁸When David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the army of the mighty men.

⁹The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the gate of the city: and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

¹⁰Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians.

¹¹The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and they put themselves in array against the children of Ammon.

¹²He said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you are to help me; but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you.

¹³Be courageous, and let us be strong for our people, and for the cities of our God. May the Lord do that which seems good to him."

¹⁴So Joab and the people who were with him drew near before the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him.

¹⁵When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians who were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer at their head.

¹⁷It was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came on them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him.

¹⁸The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrians the men of seven thousand chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the army.

¹⁹When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David, and served him: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.