The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(A)

15 After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared^(B) a place for the ark of God and pitched^(C) a tent for it. ² Then David said, “No one but the Levites^(D) may carry^(E) the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister^(F) before him forever.”

³ David assembled all Israel^(G) in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it.

¹² He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate^(A) yourselves and bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³ It was because you, the Levites,^(B) did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us.^(C) We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.^(D)” ¹⁴ So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.

¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed^(A) a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ Wearing a linen ephod,^(B) David was dancing^(C) before the Lord with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts^(D) and the sound of trumpets.^(E)

¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David,^(F) Michal^(G) daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it,^(H) and David sacrificed burnt offerings^(I) and fellowship offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing^(J) the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed^(K) the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. ¹⁹ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins^(L) to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women.^(M) And all the people went to their homes.