The Ark Brought from Kirjath Jearim^(A)

13 Then David consulted with the ^(B)captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. ² And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is of the Lord our God, let us send out to our brethren everywhere who are ^(C)left in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather together to us; ³ and let us bring the ark of our God back to us, ^(D)for we have not inquired at it since the days of Saul.” ⁴ Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

⁵ So ^(E)David gathered all Israel together, from ^(F)Shihor in Egypt to as far as the entrance of Hamath, to bring the ark of God ^(G)from Kirjath Jearim. ⁶ And David and all Israel went up to ^(H)Baalah,^[a] to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, ^(I)who dwells between the cherubim, where His name is proclaimed. ⁷ So they ^[b]carried the ark of God ^(J)on a new cart ^(K)from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. ⁸ Then ^(L)David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with ^[c]singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets.

⁹ And when they came to ^[d]Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen ^[e]stumbled. ¹⁰ Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him ^(M)because he put his hand to the ark; and he ^(N)died there before God. ¹¹ And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzza; therefore that place is called ^[f]Perez Uzza to this day. ¹² David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God to me?”

¹³ So David would not move the ark with him into the City of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. ^14 (O)The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed ^(P)the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.

David Established at Jerusalem^(Q)

14 Now ^(R)Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, with masons and carpenters, to build him a house. ² So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, for his kingdom was ^(S)highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel.

³ Then David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David begot more sons and daughters. ⁴ And ^(T)these are the names of his children whom he had in Jerusalem: ^[g]Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, ^[h]Elishua, ^[i]Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, ^[j]Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

The Philistines Defeated^(U)

⁸ Now when the Philistines heard that ^(V)David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went out against them. ⁹ Then the Philistines went and made a raid ^(W)on the Valley of ^[k]Rephaim. ¹⁰ And David ^(X)inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?”

The Lord said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.”

¹¹ So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore they called the name of that place ^[l]Baal Perazim. ¹² And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.

^13 (Y)Then the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley. ¹⁴ Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around them, ^(Z)and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. ¹⁵ And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” ¹⁶ So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from ^[m]Gibeon as far as Gezer. ¹⁷ Then ^(AA)the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord ^(AB)brought the fear of him upon all nations.

God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel

A ^(A)Contemplation^[a] of Asaph.

²² And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was ^(A)mighty in words and deeds.

^23 (B)“Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. ²⁴ And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. ²⁵ For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. ²⁶ And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ ²⁷ But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ^(C)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ ^29 (D)Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he ^(E)had two sons.

^30 (F)“And when forty years had passed, an Angel ^[a]of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, ³² saying, ^(G)‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. ^33 (H)‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. ³⁴ I have surely ^(I)seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will ^(J)send you to Egypt.” ’

³⁵ “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ^(K)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer ^(L)by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. ^36 (M)He brought them out, after he had ^(N)shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, ^(O)and in the Red Sea, ^(P)and in the wilderness forty years.

Israel Rebels Against God

³⁷ “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ^(Q)‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. ^(R)Him^[b] you shall hear.’

^38 (S)“This is he who was in the ^[c]congregation in the wilderness with ^(T)the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, ^(U)the one who received the living ^(V)oracles^[d] to give to us, ³⁹ whom our fathers ^(W)would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, ^40 (X)saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ^41 (Y)And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and ^(Z)rejoiced in the works of their own hands. ⁴² Then ^(AA)God turned and gave them up to worship ^(AB)the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: