And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel:
Parallel translations
- WEB He appointed some of the Levites to minister before Yahweh’s ark, and to commemorate, to thank, and to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel:
- BSB David appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to celebrate, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.
- NKJV And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel:
- NASB He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel:
- NLT David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the Lord—to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David appointed Levites to minister before the ark, commemorating, thanking, and praising the Lord. Ongoing, organized worship was established in Jerusalem.
Overview
David institutes a continual ministry of remembrance and praise before the ark, ensuring that worship is regular and intentional rather than occasional. The threefold task of commemorating, thanking, and praising shapes the pattern of corporate worship for generations. This establishment of sustained praise points toward the unceasing worship of God by His redeemed people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ps 72:18Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
- Ps 103:2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
- 1 Chr 24:3And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.
- Ps 105:5Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
- Ps 106:48Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.
- Isa 62:6–7I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,
- 1 Chr 16:8Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
- 1 Chr 23:2–6And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
- 1 Chr 15:16And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.
- 1 Kgs 8:15And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,
- Gen 17:7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
- Ps 70:1MAKE HASTE, O GOD, TO DELIVER ME; MAKE HASTE TO HELP ME, O LORD.
- Gen 33:20And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.
- Num 18:1–6And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
- Ps 37:1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
- 1 Chr 16:37–42So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required:
- Gen 32:28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
- 1 Chr 23:27–32For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:
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Christ at the center
The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.
How 1 Chronicles 16:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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