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

Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord;
For He is coming to judge the earth.

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

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.”

“Go and tell David My servant, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in;

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

In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’”’

I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and not be moved again; and the wicked will not waste them anymore as formerly,

even 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 a house for you.

He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

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.

What more can David still say to You concerning the honor bestowed on Your servant? For You know Your servant.

O Lord, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things.

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.

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.

And now it has pleased You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his rule to the Euphrates River.

David took from him 1,000 chariots and 7,000 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers, and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for 100 chariots.

he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and had defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. And Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze.

So David reigned over all Israel; and he administered justice and righteousness for all his people.

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.

Then certain persons went and told David about the men. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”

When the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent 1,000 talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Aram-maacah and from Zobah.

So they hired for themselves 32,000 chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and camped before Medeba. And the sons of Ammon gathered together from their cities and came to battle.

He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you.

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.”

Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants.

But he did not number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab.

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.”

“Go and speak to David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I offer you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’”

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.”

Now Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. And Ornan was threshing wheat.

Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to the Lord; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be restrained from the people.”

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 King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.”

So David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site.

Then David built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the Lord and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high place at Gibeon at that time.

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.”

David prepared large quantities of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed;

and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David.

David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.

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

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.

He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed.

Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them.

“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.”

and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and 4,000 were praising the Lord with the instruments which David made for giving praise.

The sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.

The sons of Kohath were four: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

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

These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were counted, in the number of names by their census, doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.

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

Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.”

For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward.

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,

and with the showbread, and the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or what is baked in the pan or what is well-mixed, and all measures of volume and size.

Thus they are to keep charge of the tent of meeting, and charge of the holy place, and charge of the sons of Aaron their relatives, for the service of the house of the Lord.

David, with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their offices for their ministry.

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.

Shemaiah, the son of Nethanel the scribe, from the Levites, recorded them in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites; one father’s household taken for Eleazar and one taken for Ithamar.

Now the first lot came out for Jehoiarib, the second for Jedaiah,

the third for Harim, the fourth for Seorim,

the fifth for Malchijah, the sixth for Mijamin,

the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for Abijah,

the ninth for Jeshua, the tenth for Shecaniah,

the eleventh for Eliashib, the twelfth for Jakim,

the thirteenth for Huppah, the fourteenth for Jeshebeab,

the fifteenth for Bilgah, the sixteenth for Immer,

the seventeenth for Hezir, the eighteenth for Happizzez,

the nineteenth for Pethahiah, the twentieth for Jehezkel,

the twenty-first for Jachin, the twenty-second for Gamul,

the twenty-third for Delaiah, the twenty-fourth for Maaziah.

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.

Now for the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.

Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals; and the number of those who performed their service was:

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.

They cast lots for their duties, all alike, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the pupil.

Now the first lot came out for Asaph to Joseph, the second for Gedaliah, he with his relatives and sons were twelve;

for the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and his relatives, twelve;

for the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his relatives, twelve.

For the divisions of the gatekeepers there were of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.