Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested.

They found rich and good pasture, and the land was broad and quiet and peaceful; for those who lived there formerly were Hamites.

Now the sons of Gad lived opposite them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah.

They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.

For many fell slain, because the war was of God. And they settled in their place until the exile.

But they acted treacherously against the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara and to the river of Gozan, to this day.

Their kinsmen the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

But Aaron and his sons offered on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

To the sons of Merari were given by lot, according to their families, from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

and from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands,

and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the chief officer of the house of God;

and their relatives, heads of their fathers’ households, 1,760 very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.

being stationed until now at the king’s gate to the east). These were the gatekeepers for the camp of the sons of Levi.

for the four chief gatekeepers who were Levites, were in an office of trust, and were over the chambers and over the treasuries in the house of God.

They spent the night around the house of God, because the watch was committed to them; and they were in charge of opening it morning by morning.

So they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people.

In times past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be prince over My people Israel.’”

David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”

So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David; nevertheless David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord;

and he said, “Be it far from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

These of the sons of Gad were captains of the army; he who was least was equal to a hundred and the greatest to a thousand.

David went out to meet them, and said to them, “If you come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide.”

Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was the chief of the thirty, and he said,
“We are yours, O David,
And with you, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
And peace to him who helps you;
Indeed, your God helps you!”
Then David received them and made them captains of the band.

For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God.

David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, let us send everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they may meet with us;

and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.”

So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called.

They carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart.

David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, even with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals and with trumpets.

The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, so He struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.

David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?”

Thus the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the family of Obed-edom with all that he had.

David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will You give them into my hand?” Then the Lord said to him, “Go up, for I will give them into your hand.”

So they came up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there; and David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore they named that place Baal-perazim.

David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees.

It shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”

David did just as God had commanded him, and they struck down the army of the Philistines from Gibeon even as far as Gezer.

Now 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.

Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.”

and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; consecrate yourselves both you and your relatives, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it.

Because you did not carry it at the first, the Lord our God made an outburst on us, for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance.”

So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

The sons of the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles thereon, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer, the priests, blew the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah also were gatekeepers for the ark.

Because God was helping the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

And they brought in the ark of God and placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.

He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel:

and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.

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

Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation,
And gather us and deliver us from the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
And glory in Your praise.”

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

And with them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun for the gate.

Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

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

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

Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?

This was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the standard of a man of high degree, O Lord God.

O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

And what one nation in the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make You a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt?

For Your people Israel You made Your own people forever, and You, O Lord, became their God.

Let Your name be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and the house of David Your servant is established before You.’

For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build for him a house; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You.

Now, O Lord, You are God, and have promised this good thing to Your servant.

So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved them and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away.

Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”

He brought out the people who were in it, and cut them with saws and with sharp instruments and with axes. And thus David did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel.

David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

The Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying,

So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Take for yourself

David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

So David went up at the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the Lord.

Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all.”

But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.

Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God.

Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel.

David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God.

Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.

Now, my son, the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you.

Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.

“Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people.

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever.

For their office is to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God,

Thus they were divided by lot, the one as the other; for they were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God, both from the descendants of Eleazar and the descendants of Ithamar.

These were their offices for their ministry when they came in to the house of the Lord according to the ordinance given to them through Aaron their father, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer to exalt him according to the words of God, for God gave fourteen sons and three daughters to Heman.

All these were under the direction of their father to sing in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, harps and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the direction of the king.

Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh and Peullethai the eighth; God had indeed blessed him.

They cast lots, the small and the great alike, according to their fathers’ households, for every gate.