1They brought in God’s ark, and set it in the middle of the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in Yahweh’s name. 3He gave to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins.
4He appointed some of the Levites to minister before Yahweh’s ark, and to commemorate, to thank, and to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel: 5Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with stringed instruments and with harps; and Asaph with cymbals, sounding aloud; 6with Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.
7Then on that day David first ordained giving of thanks to Yahweh by the hand of Asaph and his brothers.
8Oh give thanks to Yahweh.
Call on his name.
Make what he has done known among the peoples.
9Sing to him.
Sing praises to him.
Tell of all his marvelous works.
10Glory in his holy name.
Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
11Seek Yahweh and his strength.
Seek his face forever more.
12Remember his marvelous works that he has done,
his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,
13you offspring of Israel his servant,
you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
14He is Yahweh our God.
His judgments are in all the earth.
15Remember his covenant forever,
the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
16the covenant which he made with Abraham,
his oath to Isaac.
17He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
18saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan,
The lot of your inheritance,”
19when you were but a few men in number,
yes, very few, and foreigners in it.
20They went about from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people.
21He allowed no man to do them wrong.
Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,
22“Don’t touch my anointed ones!
Do my prophets no harm!”
23Sing to Yahweh, all the earth!
Display his salvation from day to day.
24Declare his glory among the nations,
and his marvelous works among all the peoples.
25For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised.
He also is to be feared above all gods.
26For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but Yahweh made the heavens.
27Honor and majesty are before him.
Strength and gladness are in his place.
28Ascribe to Yahweh, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!
29Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name.
Bring an offering, and come before him.
Worship Yahweh in holy array.
30Tremble before him, all the earth.
The world also is established that it can’t be moved.
31Let the heavens be glad,
and let the earth rejoice!
Let them say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns!”
32Let the sea roar, and its fullness!
Let the field exult, and all that is in it!
33Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh,
for he comes to judge the earth.
34Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loving kindness endures forever.
35Say, “Save us, God of our salvation!
Gather us together and deliver us from the nations,
to give thanks to your holy name,
to triumph in your praise.”
36Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting even to everlasting.
All the people said, “Amen,” and praised Yahweh.
37So he left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required; 38and Obed-Edom with their sixty-eight relatives; Obed-Edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers; 39and Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests, before Yahweh’s tabernacle in the high place that was at Gibeon, 40to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in Yahweh’s law, which he commanded to Israel; 41and with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to Yahweh, because his loving kindness endures forever; 42and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God, and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate. 43All the people departed, each man to his house; and David returned to bless his house.
We first encounter Abraham (father of many nations) as Abram (great father) in Genesis 11:26-31). He was the son of Terah, brother of Nahor and Haran, and uncle of Lot. Abram's brother Haran died while Abram was still in Ur of the Chaldees (Gen 11:28), where also he married Sarai, his half-sister. We discover toward the end of Genesis 11 that his father Terah left Ur, and went to the land of Canaan, via a city named Harana, where Terah died.
The story of Abraham becomes important in chapter 12, in which we are introduced to important biblical characters, locations, and events that set the stage for the remainder of the Bible. Yahweh came to Abram was commanded him to go to a land that He would show him. In this passage, Yahweh sets forth and unilateral and unconditional covenant, in which He promised to make from him a great nation, make his name great, and through him bless all of the families of the earth.[1]
"Abraham (Abram) was first of the patriarchs, father of Isaac and Ishmael, grandfather of Jacob and the traditional ancestor of the Jewish people. Abraham (originally Abram, which means "exalted father") came from Ur in Mesopotamia. His father, Terah, took him (with his wife, Sarah, and his nephew, Lot) to Haran. God called Abraham to leave this new home and to find another home elsewhere in Canaan. After a brief stay in Egypt, Abraham settled near Hebron where he became involved in a local political quarrel when Lot was taken prisoner by an alliance of four eastern chieftains. Abraham launched a successful attack against this confederacy and on his victorious return encountered the mysterious Melchizedek, king of Salem, to whom he gave a tenth of all the spoil he had taken in the battle.
For many years of their marriage, he and Sarah were childless, but God assured Abraham that he would eventually become the father of a great nation. Sarah disbelieved and persuaded Abraham to beget a child by her maid, Hagar, who bore him his first son, Ishmael. When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to him, and instituted with him a covenant of circumcision, giving him the new name of Abraham (meaning "father of a multitude") and told him that a son, to be named Isaac was shortly to be born to Sarah. When the boy was in his childhood, God ordered Abraham to take him up to a mountain in the land of Moriah and offer him up as a sacrificial victim. Abraham prepared to do so, but was prevented at the last moment from carrying out the sacrifice, and told that he would be blessed for his faithfulness in being ready to offer up his son.
When Sarah died Abraham bought the plot of ground (the field of Ephron in Machpelah) that became the burial place for many generations of his descendants. He subsequently made arrangements for the marriage of Isaac, and took another wife, Keturah, who bore him Zimran, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. At the age of one hundred and seventy five, Abraham died and was buried in Machpelah.
The principal narrative of the part of Genesis dealing with Abraham's history is interrupted in various places by other stories involving the patriarch. These include the parallel stories of his sojourns in Egypt and in Gerar. On both occasions Abraham lied about his relations with Sarah, jeopardising the fulfilment of God's promise (as both Pharaoh and Abimelech intended to take Sarah for themselves), while protecting himself. Both times God intervened to save him from the consequences of his deception. In another story we read of Abraham's intercession on behalf of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed for their wickedness."[2]
[1] See Genesis 12:1, for an explanation of God's covenant with Abraham.
[2] Based on the website Mini-Biografias de Personajes Biblicos Web de Recursos Cristianos) (trans. Mini-Biographies of Biblical Characters, Christian Resources Web).