They performed music ¹  before the sanctuary ²  of the meeting tent until Solomon built the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. ³  They carried out their tasks according to regulations.

Also their neighbors, from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, were bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. There were large supplies of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, olive oil, beef, and lamb, ¹  for Israel was celebrating. ² 

Then David said, “Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve before him perpetually.

As the ark of the Lord’s covenant entered the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked out the window. When she saw King David jumping and celebrating, she despised him. ¹ 

Messengers ¹  came and told David what had happened to the men, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho ²  until your beards grow again; then you may come back.”

David told Joab and the leaders of the army, ¹  “Go, count the number of warriors ²  from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we have.” ³ 

So now, in the sight of all Israel, the Lord’s assembly, and in the hearing of our God, I say this: ¹  Carefully observe ²  all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may possess this good land and may leave it as a permanent inheritance for your children after you.

David said to his son Solomon: “Be strong and brave! Do it! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! ¹  For the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or abandon you before all the work for the service of the Lord’s temple is finished.

At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival for seven days. This great assembly included people from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south. ¹ 

I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! ¹  Your wisdom surpasses what was reported to me.

and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; ¹  they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah ²  carried off a huge amount of plunder.

He was buried in the tomb he had carved out in the City of David. ¹  They laid him to rest on a bier covered with spices and assorted mixtures of ointments. They made a huge bonfire to honor him. ² 

On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, where ¹  they praised the Lord. So that place is called the Valley of Berachah ²  to this very day.

So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day. ¹  At that same time Libnah also rebelled and freed themselves from Judah’s control ²  because Jehoram ³  rejected the Lord God of his ancestors.

He placed the men at their posts, each holding his weapon in his hand. They lined up from the south side of the temple to the north side and stood near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king. ¹ 

Now the troops Amaziah had dismissed and had not allowed to fight in the battle ¹  raided ²  the cities of Judah from Samaria ³  to Beth Horon. They killed ⁴  3,000 people and carried off a large amount of plunder.

King Joash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Joash son of Jehoahaz, in Beth Shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. He broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet. ¹ 

King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, ¹  afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.

Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. ¹ 

So they sent an edict ¹  throughout Israel from Beer Sheba to Dan, summoning the people ²  to come and observe a Passover for the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they had not observed it on a nationwide scale as prescribed in the law. ³