I Chronicles 16:4
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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.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Asaph the chief,.... Of those that were now appointed: otherwise, of the three principal singers, Heman was the chief, and Asaph next, Ch1 6:33. and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, with psalteries, and with harps; to play upon them before the ark at the same time the psalms and songs were vocally sung; the above persons are such as are named before, Ch1 15:18, but Asaph made a sound with cymbals; he struck and played upon them, see Ch1 15:19.
Open source ↗This chapter concludes that great affair of the settlement of the ark in the royal city, and with it the settlement of the public worship of God during the reign of David. Here is, I. The solemnity with which the ark was fixed (Ch1 16:1-6). II. The psalm David gave to be sung on this occasion (v. 7-36). III. The settling of the stated public worship of God in order thenceforward (Ch1 16:37-43).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
With the help of Eleazar’s descendant Zadok and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech, David divided them according to the offices of their service.
Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,
and said: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His own hand what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying,
Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Hurry, O LORD, to help me!
David also told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers to lift up their voices with joy, accompanied by musical instruments—harps, lyres, and cymbals.
Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.
There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.