1 Chronicles 16
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 16
1 They brought the Ark of God and placed it inside of the tent that David had pitched for it. They offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. 2 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 He gave each man and each woman in Israel one loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.
The Levite Ministers. 4 He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 They were Asaph, the leader, Zechariah, the next in charge, and Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-edom. They were to play upon the lyres and the harps while Asaph was to play upon the cymbals. 6 Benaiah and Jahaziel were the priests who normally blew the trumpets before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.[a]
7 On that day David first gave Asaph and his brethren this psalm of thanks to the Lord:
8 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;
make his deeds known among the nations.
9 Sing to him, praise him with song;
speak of all his wondrous deeds.
10 Glory in his holy name,
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Seek the Lord and his strength,
seek his face continually.
12 Remember the marvels he has done,
his wondrous deeds and the judgments of his mouth.
13 O descendants of Israel, his servant,
O children of Jacob, his chosen one.
14 He is the Lord, our God,
his judgments extend to all the earth.
15 He always remembers his covenant,
the word he has commanded for a thousand generations,
16 which he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an eternal covenant,
18 saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan;
it will be your allotted inheritance.”
19 When there were only a few of them,
few indeed, with foreigners among them,
20 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people.
21 He did not let anyone oppress them,
for their sake he rebuked kings,
22 “Do not touch my anointed;
do no harm to my prophets.”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth,
proclaim his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
among all nations, his marvelous deeds.
25 For great is the Lord, greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared more than all the other gods.
26 All the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Glory and honor are before him,
strength and joy in his dwelling place.
28 Give to the Lord, O families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Give to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bring an offering and come before him;
worship the Lord in holy attire.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth;
the world is firmly established, not to be moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice;
let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
32 Let the sea roar, and whatever fills it;
let the fields rejoice, and all that is in them.
33 The trees of the forest will sing out before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his mercy endures forever.
35 Shout forth, “Save us, O Lord, our savior;
gather us in and deliver us from the nations.
Then we will give thanks to your holy name,
we will glory in your praise.”
36 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
forever and ever.
All the people said, “Amen! Praise the Lord!”
37 He left Asaph and his brethren there before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to minister before the Ark and to do each day’s required work. 38 He also left Obed-edom and sixty-eight of his brethren with them. Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were the gatekeepers.
39 He also left Zadok, the priest, and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon. 40 He was to offer the regular burnt offerings upon the altar of burnt offerings, each morning and each evening, just as it is written in the law of the Lord which he gave to Israel. 41 With him there were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who had been chosen, who had been designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy endures forever. 42 Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for playing the trumpets and the cymbals as well as the other sacred musical instruments. The sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers.
43 Then all the people departed, each returning home. David, too, went home to bless his household.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 16:6 The trumpets were to be blown only by priests; the cymbals of the leaders of the choirs set the rhythm.
- 1 Chronicles 16:8 The prayer is composed of sections of several Psalms (Pss 105:1-15; 96; 106:1, 47-48). The author’s purpose is to provide a model for the Jerusalem liturgy.
