God was also at work in Judah and united the people in their determination to obey his will by following the commands of the king and his officials.

You are forbidden to collect any taxes from the priests, Levites, musicians, guards, workers, or anyone else connected with this Temple.

If any disobey the laws of your God or the laws of the empire, they are to be punished promptly: by death or by exile or by confiscation of their property or by imprisonment."

By God's grace I have won the favor of the emperor, of his counselors, and of all his powerful officials; the LORD my God has given me courage, and I have been able to persuade many of the heads of the clans of Israel to return with me."

Kings will be like fathers to you; queens will be like mothers. They will bow low before you and honor you; they will humbly show their respect for you. Then you will know that I am the LORD; no one who waits for my help will be disappointed."

He said to the Levites, "You are the leaders of the Levite clans. Purify yourselves and your fellow Levites, so that you can bring the Covenant Box of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.

In each church they appointed elders, and with prayers and fasting they commended them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

This is a true saying: If a man is eager to be a church leader, he desires an excellent work.

he must not be a drunkard or a violent man, but gentle and peaceful; he must not love money;

For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of the church of God?

He should be a man who is respected by the people outside the church, so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the Devil's trap.

they should hold to the revealed truth of the faith with a clear conscience.

Their wives also must be of good character and must not gossip; they must be sober and honest in everything.

Those helpers who do their work well win for themselves a good standing and are able to speak boldly about their faith in Christ Jesus.

But if I delay, this letter will let you know how we should conduct ourselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

Take the teachings that you heard me proclaim in the presence of many witnesses, and entrust them to reliable people, who will be able to teach others also.

I left you in Crete, so that you could put in order the things that still needed doing and appoint church elders in every town. Remember my instructions:

David was wearing a robe made of the finest linen, and so were the musicians, Chenaniah their leader, and the Levites who carried the Box. David also wore a linen ephod.

So all the Israelites accompanied the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the sound of trumpets, horns, and cymbals, and the music of harps.

These are the men whom King David put in charge of the music at the place of worship in Jerusalem after the Covenant Box was moved there.

The family lines of those who held this office are as follows: The clan of Kohath: Heman, the leader of the first choir, was the son of Joel. His family line went back to Jacob as follows: Heman, Joel, Samuel,

Zuph, Elkanah, Mahath, Amasai,

Tahath, Assir, Ebiasaph, Korah,

while David and all the people danced with all their might to honor God. They sang and played musical instruments---harps, drums, cymbals, and trumpets.

Heman and Jeduthun also had charge of the trumpets and cymbals and the other instruments which were played when the songs of praise were sung. The members of Jeduthun's clan were in charge of guarding the gates.

four thousand to do guard duty, and four thousand to praise the LORD, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.

King David and the leaders of the Levites chose the following Levite clans to lead the worship services: Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. They were to proclaim God's messages, accompanied by the music of harps and cymbals. This is the list of persons chosen to lead the worship, with the type of service that each group performed:

The six sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah. Under the direction of their father they proclaimed God's message, accompanied by the music of harps, and sang praise and thanks to the LORD.

God gave to Heman, the king's prophet, these fourteen sons and also three daughters, as he had promised, in order to give power to Heman.

Everyone who was there joined in worship, and the singing and the rest of the music continued until all the sacrifices had been burned.

The king and the leaders of the nation told the Levites to sing to the LORD the songs of praise that were written by David and by Asaph the prophet. So everyone sang with great joy as they knelt and worshiped God.

He was followed by other members of his clan---Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani---all of whom carried musical instruments of the kind played by King David, the man of God. Ezra the scholar led this group in the procession.

From the time of King David and the musician Asaph long ago, the musicians have led songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

They dance and sing, "In Zion is the source of all our blessings."

Praise his name with dancing; play drums and harps in praise of him.

Praise him with trumpets. Praise him with harps and lyres.

Praise him with drums and dancing. Praise him with harps and flutes.

(SEE 5:11)

When the builders started to lay the foundation of the Temple, the priests in their robes took their places with trumpets in their hands, and the Levites of the clan of Asaph stood there with cymbals. They praised the LORD according to the instructions handed down from the time of King David.

They sang the LORD's praises, repeating the refrain: "The LORD is good, and his love for Israel is eternal." Everyone shouted with all their might, praising the LORD, because the work on the foundation of the Temple had been started.

That day many sacrifices were offered, and the people were full of joy because God had made them very happy. The women and the children joined in the celebration, and the noise they all made could be heard for miles.

Shout for joy to God our defender; sing praise to the God of Jacob!

How good it is to give thanks to you, O LORD, to sing in your honor, O Most High God,

with the music of stringed instruments and with melody on the harp.

Come, let us praise the LORD! Let us sing for joy to God, who protects us!

Sing to the LORD, all the world!

the shouts of gladness and joy and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. You will hear people sing as they bring thank offerings to my Temple; they will say, 'Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, because he is good and his love is eternal.' I will make this land as prosperous as it was before. I, the LORD, have spoken."