The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

1 ^tDavid again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from ^uBaale-judah ^vto bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts ^wwho sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God ^xon a new cart and brought it ^yout of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio,¹ the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God,² and Ahio went before the ark.

Uzzah and the Ark

5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with ^zsongs³ and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^fSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom ^gto the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when ^hthose who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, ⁱhe sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David ^jdanced before the Lord with all his might. And David was ^kwearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

David and Michal

16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it ^lin its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. ^mAnd David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, ⁿhe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts 19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat,¹ and a cake of raisins to each one. ^oThen all the people departed, each to his house.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^wKing Herod heard of it, for Jesus’¹ name had become known. Some² said, ^x“John the Baptist³ has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 ^xBut others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^ya prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 ^zFor it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^abound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 ^zFor John had been saying to Herod, ^b“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod ^cfeared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^dheard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity came when Herod ^eon his birthday ^fgave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^gup to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s⁴ head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his ^hdisciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 ^eBlessed be ^fthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing ^gin the heavenly places, 4 ^heven as he ⁱchose us in him ^jbefore the foundation of the world, that we should be ^kholy and blameless before him. In love 5 ^lhe predestined us¹ for ^madoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, ⁿaccording to the purpose of his will, 6 ^oto the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in ^pthe Beloved. 7 ^qIn him we have ^rredemption ^sthrough his blood, ^tthe forgiveness of our trespasses, ^uaccording to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 ^vmaking known² to us the mystery of his will, ⁿaccording to his purpose, which he ^wset forth in Christ³ 10 as a plan for ^xthe fullness of time, ^yto unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.

11 In him we have obtained ^zan inheritance, ^ahaving been predestined ^baccording to the purpose of him who works all things according to ^cthe counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be ^dto the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard ^ethe word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, ^fwere sealed with the ^gpromised Holy Spirit, 14 who is ^hthe guarantee⁴ of our ⁱinheritance until ^jwe acquire ^kpossession of it,^{5 l}to the praise of his glory.