They brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that Dawud1 had pitched for it: and they offered burnt offerings and peace-offerings before God2. 2When Dawud had made an end of offering the burnt offering and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of YAHWEH3. 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 YAHWEH, and to celebrate and to thank and praise YAHWEH, the God of Israel: 5Asaph the chief, and second to him Zakariyya4, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with lyres 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 Dawud first ordained to give thanks to YAHWEH, by the hand of Asaph and his brothers.
8Oh give thanks to YAHWEH, call on his Name;
Make known his doings among the peoples.
9Sing to him, sing praises to him;
Talk of all his marvelous works.
10Glory in his holy Name;
Let the heart of them rejoice who seek YAHWEH.
11Seek YAHWEH 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 Yaqub, his chosen ones.
14He is YAHWEH our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
15Remember his covenant forever,
The promise he commanded to a thousand generations,
16The covenant which he made with Ibrahim,
His oath to Ishaq,
17Confirmed to Yaqub for a statute,
To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
18Saying, “To you will I give the land of Canaan,
The lot of your inheritance,”
19When you were but a few men in number,
Yes, very few, and foreigners 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,
22Saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones,
Do my prophets no harm.”
23Sing to YAHWEH, all the earth;
Show forth his salvation from day to day.
24Declare his glory among the nations,
His marvelous works among all the peoples.
25For great is YAHWEH, and worthy of praise:
He also is to be feared above all gods.
26For all the gods of the peoples are idols:
But YAHWEH made the heavens.
27Honour and majesty are before him:
Strength and gladness are in his place.
28Ascribe to YAHWEH, you families of the peoples,
Ascribe to YAHWEH glory and strength;
29Ascribe to YAHWEH the glory due to his Name:
Bring an offering, and come before him:
Worship YAHWEH in holy array.
30Tremble before him, all the earth:
The world also is established that it cannot be moved.
31Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let them say among the nations, “YAHWEH reigns!”
32Let the sea roar, and its fullness;
Let the field exult, and all that is therein;
33Then shall the trees of the wood sing for joy before YAHWEH;
For he comes to judge the earth.
34Oh give thanks to YAHWEH; 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.”
36Praise be to YAHWEH, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
All the people said, “Amen,” and praised YAHWEH.
37So he left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required; 38and Obed-Edom with their brothers, sixty-eight; Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers; 39and Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, before the tent of YAHWEH in the high place that was at Gibeon, 40to offer burnt offerings to YAHWEH on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in the Taurat5 of YAHWEH, 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 YAHWEH, 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 Dawud returned to bless his house.
- 16:1 Dawud, this Arabic name is derived from David (Hebrew) and means “Beloved.” ↩︎
- 16:1 God, English translation of elohim. Elohim (Hebrew) is related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 16:2 YAHWEH, God’s personal Name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15: ‘God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”’ ↩︎
- 16:5 Zakariyya, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Zechariah, which means “YAHWEH remembers.” ↩︎
- 16:40 Taurat, this Arabic term is derived from the Hebrew word Torah, which means “instruction” or “teaching.” Depending on context, Taurat can refer to,
1. The whole Hebrew Bible contained here under the title Taurat, equivalent to what Jews today call Tanakh, and what Christians call the Old Testament.
2. The revelation given to Prophet Musa, that is, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes called the Pentateuch. Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning “five books” and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books are attributed to Prophet Musa himself. This is the traditional and most common meaning given to Taurat or Torah.
3. The Law of Musa found within the Pentateuch, with its hundreds of rules and regulations covering many aspects of daily life for the people of Israel. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20. ↩︎