The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NRSVUE. Switch to the NRSVUE to read along with the audio.
Levites carry the Covenant Box properly
15 David built houses for himself in the City of David. He put up a tent as a place where he would put God's Covenant Box. 2 Then David said, ‘Only the Levites may carry God's Covenant Box. The Lord chose them to do that. He chose them to serve him for ever.’
3 David brought all the Israelites together in Jerusalem. He said that they should bring the Lord's Covenant Box to the place that he had prepared for it. 4 Then David brought together the descendants of Aaron and the other Levites. They were:
5 From Kohath's clan, 120 people with their leader, Uriel.
6 From Merari's clan, 220 people with their leader, Asaiah.
7 From Gershon's clan, 130 people with their leader, Joel.
8 From Elizaphan's clan, 200 people with their leader, Shemaiah.
9 From Hebron's clan, 80 people with their leader, Eliel.
10 From Uzziel's clan, 112 people with their leader, Amminadab.
11 Then David told the priests Zadok and Abiathar to come to him. He also told these Levites to come: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab. 12 David said to them, ‘You are the leaders of the Levites' clans. You and your relatives must make yourselves holy. Then you will be able to carry the Covenant Box of the Lord, Israel's God. You must bring it to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 The first time that we tried to bring it here, you did not carry it. Because of that, the Lord our God punished us. He did that because we did not ask him about the proper way to carry it.’
14 So the priests and the other Levites made themselves holy. Then they could carry the Covenant Box of the Lord, Israel's God. 15 The Levites carried God's Covenant Box with its poles on their shoulders. That is how God had commanded Moses that they should carry it.
16 David told the leaders of the Levites to choose some of their relatives to be musicians. Some would sing songs. Some would make music with lyres, harps and cymbals. They would sing loud and happy songs.
17 The Levites chose Joel's son Heman. They also chose Berekiah's son Asaph, who was a relative of Heman. And they chose Kushaiah's son Ethan, who belonged to Merari's clan. 18 They also chose another group of Levites to help them. They were: Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, as well as two temple guards, Obed-Edom and Jeiel.
19 They chose these musicians to make music with bronze cymbals: Heman, Asaph and Ethan. 20 They chose these musicians to make music in a special way with harps: Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah.
21 They chose these musicians to make music in a special way with lyres: Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah. 22 Kenaniah was the leader of the musicians. They chose him to do that because he had good skill in music.
23 Berekiah and Elkanah were guards to keep the Covenant Box safe.
24 The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer walked in front of God's Covenant Box. They made a loud noise with trumpets as they went. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also guards for the Covenant Box.
The Covenant Box arrives in Jerusalem
25 So David, the leaders of Israel and the army officers went to fetch the Lord's Covenant Box from Obed-Edom's house. They were very happy as they took it from there to Jerusalem. 26 The Lord helped the Levites who were carrying his Covenant Box. So they offered seven bulls and seven male sheep as sacrifices to the Lord. 27 David was wearing a robe that was made of good linen. All the Levites who were carrying the Covenant Box also wore linen clothes. So did the musicians and Kenaniah, their leader. David also wore a linen ephod over his robe.[a]
28 In that way, all the Israelites brought the Lord's Covenant Box to Jerusalem. They were shouting. They were making loud music with trumpets, cymbals, lyres and harps.
29 While they where bringing the Lord's Covenant Box into the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked out through a window. She saw that King David was dancing because he was so happy. Michal felt ashamed of him.
The people worship the Lord
16 David had put up a special tent for God's Covenant Box, so they took it there. They put it in its place inside the tent. Then they offered burnt offerings and friendship offerings to God. 2 After David had offered those sacrifices, he prayed that the Lord would bless the people. 3 Then he gave a gift to every Israelite man and woman. Each person received a loaf of bread, some dates and some raisins.
4 Then David chose some Levites to serve the Lord at the Covenant Box. They would lead prayers and songs to thank the Lord, Israel's God, and to praise him. 5 Asaph was the leader of that group and Zechariah was the second leader. Then there were Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. Those men made music with harps and lyres. Asaph used the cymbals. 6 The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel would make a noise with trumpets in front of God's Covenant Box many times each day.
A song to thank God[b]
7 On that day, David first told Asaph and the other Levites to sing this song to thank the Lord:
8 Thank the Lord!
Make his name famous!
Tell people in all the nations what he has done.
9 Sing songs and make music
to praise him!
Tell people about the miracles that he has done.
10 Boast about his holy name.
Everybody who wants to worship the Lord should be very happy!
11 Ask the Lord to help you!
Ask him to give you strength.
Always try to be near him
and worship him.
12 Remember the great things that he has done.
Remember his miracles,
and the commands that he has spoken.
13 You are the descendants of God's servant, Israel.
You are Jacob's descendants,
and God has chosen you to be his people.
14 He is the Lord our God.
He rules the whole earth with justice.
15 Always remember the covenant that he has made with us.
He made that promise to continue for ever.
16 That is the promise that he made to Abraham,
and that he also made to Isaac.
17 He repeated it to Jacob as a law.
It was a covenant with Israel's people
that would continue for ever.
18 He promised, ‘I will give the land of Canaan to you.
It will belong to you and to your descendants.’
19 At one time, God's people were only a few.
They lived in Canaan as strangers.
20 They travelled among different nations
and different kingdoms.
21 But the Lord did not let anyone hurt them.
He punished kings,
to keep his people safe.
22 He said, ‘Do not even touch the people that I have chosen to be mine.
Do not hurt my prophets.’
23 Sing to the Lord, all the world.
Every day, tell people the message that he has rescued us.
24 Tell the other nations that he is very great.
Tell all of them about the great things that he has done.
25 Yes, the Lord is great!
Everyone should praise him, as he deserves.
People should respect him with fear,
more than all other gods.
26 All the other nations' gods are useless idols.
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 We see that he is a very great king.
Strength and joy are in his home.
28 You people of other nations,
recognize that the Lord is great and powerful.
29 Agree that the Lord's name is great.
Bring a gift to offer to him in his temple.
Worship the Lord,
who is beautiful and holy.
30 Everyone on earth must shake with fear in front of him.
He has fixed the world in its place,
so that nothing can shake it.
31 The earth and the sky should be happy!
The people of all nations should say,
‘The Lord rules as king!’
32 The sea and everything in it should shout aloud!
The fields and all their crops should shout with joy!
33 Then all the trees in the forests will also sing,
because they are so happy.
They will be happy because the Lord is coming
to judge the earth.
34 Thank the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love will always be with us.
35 Say to him, ‘God, you are the one who rescues us!
Please save us now!
Bring us safely home from among the other nations.
Then we will thank you!
We will shout aloud to praise your holy name.’
36 Praise the Lord, Israel's God,
as he deserves!
Praise him now and for ever!
Then all the people said, ‘Amen! We agree! Praise the Lord!’
People are guilty
18 God in heaven shows that he is angry with people. He is angry because they do not respect him and they do bad things. Because they continue to do those bad things, they choose not to accept God's true message. 19 They should understand what God is like, because God himself has shown it to them clearly. 20 Ever since God made the world, he has been showing people clearly about himself. We cannot see God. But the things that he has made show us clearly what he is like. We can understand his great power that continues for ever. We can know that he is the true God. So there is no reason for anyone to say, ‘We could not know about God.’
21 Those people really knew about God. But they did not respect him as a great God, and they did not thank him. They did not even think clearly any more. Their minds became confused and they did not understand God's message. 22 They said that they were wise, but really they became fools. 23 They refused to worship the great God who can never die. Instead, they made false gods for themselves. They worshipped idols that were like people who must die. They also made idols that looked like birds, animals and snakes, and they worshipped them.
24 So God let those people do all the bad things that they wanted to do. God let those disgusting things rule their lives. As a result, they did bad things with each other's bodies. They did things that people should be ashamed to do. 25 They refused to believe the true things about God. Instead, they chose to believe lies. They worshipped things that God has made and they became servants of those things. But they refused to worship God himself who made those things! Everyone should praise him for ever! Amen. This is true.
26 Because those people turned against God, he let those bad things rule their lives. They strongly wanted to do things that they should be ashamed about. Even the women stopped having sex in a way which is proper. Instead, they began to have sex with other women, which is not proper. 27 Also, the men stopped having sex with women. Instead, they strongly wanted to have sex with other men. Men did bad things with other men that they should be ashamed about. Because they did such wrong things, they received in their own bodies the punishment that was right.
28 Those people decided that they did not need to know anything about God. So God let their minds become spoiled. As a result, they do bad things that people ought not to do. 29 They only think about wrong and bad things that they want to do. They want many things for themselves. They want to hurt other people. They are always jealous of other people. They kill people. They quarrel and fight with people. They are not honest or kind. They say silly things about other people. 30 They tell lies about people. They hate God. They insult other people. They are proud and they say how important they are. They think of many ways to do bad things. They do not obey their parents. 31 They do not understand what is right. They do not do what they have promised to do. They do not love anyone and they are not kind to anyone. 32 These people understand God's message about what is right. They know that people who do bad things like this ought to die. But they still continue to do those bad things. They are even happy when other people do those bad things too.
A prayer for help[a]
10 Must you stand so far away, Lord?
Why do you hide when there is trouble?
2 Wicked people are cruel to poor people.
They use their evil ideas
to take hold of weak people.
3 Not only do wicked people boast
because they get the things that they want.
They also praise robbers,
and they curse the Lord.
4 Wicked people are too proud to worry about God.
They think, ‘God will not give me any trouble.’
5 Often the wicked person seems to have success.
He does not respect your commands, God.
He laughs at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, ‘There will be no trouble for me.
Nothing bad will ever happen to me or to my children.’
7 Plenty of lies come from his mouth,
and he curses people.
The bad words that he speaks are very cruel,
and they hurt people.
8 He hides near the villages,
so that he can jump out and catch people.
He watches in secret to find a weak person that he can kill.
He murders people who have done nothing wrong.
9 Quietly, he hides like a lion among some bushes.
He waits there to catch a poor, weak person.
Like a hunter, he catches poor people in his net.
10 He stamps on the people that he catches,
and he knocks them down to the ground.
The weak person falls down,
because the wicked person is too strong.
11 The wicked person says to himself,
‘God will give me no trouble!
He does not even see what I do.’
12 Rise up, Lord!
Do something, God,
and knock down the wicked person!
Do not forget to help weak people.
13 Why do wicked people insult God?
They say to themselves,
‘God will not give me any trouble.’
14 Surely, God, you see what is happening.
You see how wicked people bring pain and trouble.
You decide what to do about it.
The weak person trusts that you will help him.
You take care of children who have no father.
15 Take hold of the arm of the wicked, evil man!
Break it and take away his strength!
Punish him for the bad things that he has done,
so that he has to stop.
6 Many people want an important person to like them.
Everyone wants to be the friend of someone who gives lots of gifts.
7 If someone is poor, all his family hate him.
His friends stay away from him.
Even if he goes to ask them for help,
he cannot find them anywhere.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.