Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
Parallel translations
- WEB David and all the house of Israel played before Yahweh with all kinds of instruments made of cypress wood, with harps, with stringed instruments, with tambourines, with castanets, and with cymbals.
- KJV And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
- BSB David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of wood instruments, harps, stringed instruments, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.
- NASB Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of juniper wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
- NLT David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
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 and all Israel celebrate before the Lord with every kind of musical instrument. Their joyful worship expresses delight in God's presence.
Overview
David and the whole house of Israel make music before the Lord with harps, lyres, tambourines, and cymbals, in exuberant worship as the ark advances. Their joy rightly honors God and shows worship as a wholehearted, celebratory response to His presence. Yet the celebration is about to be interrupted, reminding us that genuine joy in worship must be joined to reverent obedience to God's holiness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 150:3–5Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet! Praise him with harp and lyre!
- 1 Chr 13:8David and all Israel played before God with all their might, even with songs, with harps, with stringed instruments, with tambourines, with cymbals, and with trumpets.
- Amos 5:23Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
- Dan 3:7Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
- 1 Sam 16:16Let our lord now command your servants who are in front of you to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. Then when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will play with his hand, and you will be well.”
- 1 Sam 18:6–7As they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with instruments of music.
- Dan 3:5that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up;
- Dan 3:15Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good: but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?
- Dan 3:10You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;
- Amos 6:5who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;
- 1 Chr 15:10–24of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and his brothers one hundred twelve.
- Ps 68:25–27The singers went before, the minstrels followed after, among the ladies playing with tambourines,
- 1 Sam 10:5“After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a pipe, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.
- Ps 47:5God has gone up with a shout, Yahweh with the sound of a trumpet.
- 2 Kgs 3:15But now bring me a musician.” When the musician played, Yahweh’s hand came on him.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 6:5 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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