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David’s Directives for the Levites. He then appointed certain Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate, thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel.(A) Asaph was their chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. These were to play on harps and lyres, while Asaph was to sound the cymbals, and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to be the regular trumpeters before the ark of the covenant of God.

On that same day, David appointed Asaph and his brothers to sing for the first time these praises of the Lord:

[a]Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;(B)
    make known among the peoples his deeds.
Sing praise, play music;
    proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
10 Glory in his holy name;
    rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!
11 Rely on the mighty Lord;
    constantly seek his face.
12 Recall the wondrous deeds he has done,
    his signs, and his words of judgment,
13 You sons of Israel, his servants,
    offspring of Jacob, the chosen ones!
14 The Lord is our God;
    who rules the whole earth.
15 He remembers forever his covenant
    the pact imposed for a thousand generations—
16 Which was made with Abraham,
    confirmed by oath to Isaac,
17 And ratified as binding for Jacob,
    an everlasting covenant for Israel:
18 “To you will I give the land of Canaan,
    your own allotted heritage.”
19 When they were few in number,
    a handful, and strangers there,
20 Wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another,
21 He let no one oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:
22 “Do not touch my anointed,
    to my prophets do no harm.”
23 (C)Sing to the Lord, all the earth,
    announce his salvation, day after day.
24 Tell his glory among the nations;
    among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
25 For great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
    to be feared above all gods.
26 For the gods of the nations all do nothing,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty go before him;
    power and rejoicing are in his holy place.
28 Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
    give to the Lord glory and might;
29 Give to the Lord the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and come before him;
    bow down to the Lord, splendid in holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth;
    the world will surely stand fast, never to be moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
    let them say among the nations: The Lord is king.
32 Let the sea and what fills it resound;
    let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
33 Then let all the trees of the forest exult
    before the Lord, who comes,
    who comes to rule the earth.
34 (D)Give thanks to the Lord, who is good,
    whose love endures forever;
35 And say, “Save us, O God, our savior,
    gather us and deliver us from among the nations,
That we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in praising you.”
36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, Amen! Hallelujah.

37 Then David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark regularly according to the daily ritual;

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Footnotes

  1. 16:8–36 A hymn composed of parts of several psalms: vv. 8–22 = Ps 105:1–15; vv. 23–33 = Ps 96:1–13; vv. 34–36 = Ps 106:1, 47–48. There are minor textual variants between this hymn and the psalms it is drawn from.

He appointed some of the Levites to minister(A) before the ark of the Lord, to extol,[a] thank, and praise the Lord, the God of Israel: Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel,[b] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.

That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise(B) to the Lord in this manner:

Give praise(C) to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations(D) what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise(E) to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
10 Glory in his holy name;(F)
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek(G) his face always.

12 Remember(H) the wonders(I) he has done,
    his miracles,(J) and the judgments he pronounced,
13 you his servants, the descendants of Israel,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
14 He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments(K) are in all the earth.

15 He remembers[c](L) his covenant forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant(M) he made with Abraham,
    the oath he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob(N) as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
18 “To you I will give the land of Canaan(O)
    as the portion you will inherit.”

19 When they were but few in number,(P)
    few indeed, and strangers in it,
20 they[d] wandered(Q) from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
21 He allowed no one to oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:(R)
22 “Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets(S) no harm.”

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory(T) among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

25 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;(U)
    he is to be feared(V) above all gods.(W)
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.(X)
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

28 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(Y)
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;(Z)
    bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[e] holiness.(AA)
30     Tremble(AB) before him, all the earth!
    The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.(AC)

31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;(AD)
    let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!(AE)
32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;(AF)
    let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
33 Let the trees(AG) of the forest sing,
    let them sing for joy before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge(AH) the earth.

34 Give thanks(AI) to the Lord, for he is good;(AJ)
    his love endures forever.(AK)
35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;(AL)
    gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
    and glory in your praise.”
36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,(AM)
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

37 David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements.(AN)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 16:4 Or petition; or invoke
  2. 1 Chronicles 16:5 See 15:18,20; Hebrew Jeiel, possibly another name for Jaaziel.
  3. 1 Chronicles 16:15 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also Psalm 105:8); Hebrew Remember
  4. 1 Chronicles 16:20 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint and Vulgate (see also Psalm 105:12); most Hebrew manuscripts inherit, / 19 though you are but few in number, / few indeed, and strangers in it.” / 20 They
  5. 1 Chronicles 16:29 Or Lord with the splendor of

four thousand were to be gatekeepers,(A) and four thousand were to praise the Lord with the instruments which [David] had devised for praise.

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Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments(A) I have provided for that purpose.”(B)

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Chapter 25

The Singers. David and the leaders of the liturgy set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who prophesied[a] to the accompaniment of lyres and harps and cymbals.(A)

This is the list of those who performed this service: Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the guidance of the king. Of Jeduthun, these sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah; six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied to the accompaniment of a lyre, to give thanks and praise to the Lord. Of Heman, these sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, and Jerimoth; Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer for divine matters; to exalt him God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.(B) All these, whether of Asaph, Jeduthun, or Heman, were under their fathers’ direction in the singing in the house of the Lord to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres, serving in the house of God, under the guidance of the king.(C) Their number, together with that of their kinsmen who were trained in singing to the Lord, all of them skilled men, was two hundred and eighty-eight.

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Footnotes

  1. 25:1 This list of twenty-four classes of Temple singers balances the list of the twenty-four classes of priests (24:4–19). The last nine names in v. 4, which seem to form a special group, were perhaps originally fragments or incipits (the opening words) of hymns. With some slight changes in the vocalization, these names would mean: “Have mercy on me, O Lord,” “Have mercy on me,” “You are my God,” “I magnify,” “I extol the help of…,” “Sitting in adversity,” “I have fulfilled,” “He made abundant,” and “Visions.”

The Musicians

25 David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph,(A) Heman(B) and Jeduthun(C) for the ministry of prophesying,(D) accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals.(E) Here is the list of the men(F) who performed this service:(G)

From the sons of Asaph:

Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the king’s supervision.

As for Jeduthun, from his sons:(H)

Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei,[a] Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six in all, under the supervision of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, using the harp(I) in thanking and praising the Lord.

As for Heman, from his sons:

Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael and Jerimoth; Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-Ezer; Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth. (All these were sons of Heman the king’s seer. They were given him through the promises of God to exalt him. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.)

All these men were under the supervision of their father(J) for the music of the temple of the Lord, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God.

Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman(K) were under the supervision of the king.(L) Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord—they numbered 288.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 25:3 One Hebrew manuscript and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also verse 17); most Hebrew manuscripts do not have Shimei.