1 Chronicles 13-16

New King James Version

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.

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(AC)

15 David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, ^(AD)and pitched a tent for it. ² Then David said, “No one may carry the ^(AE)ark of God but the Levites, for ^(AF)the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.” ³ And David ^(AG)gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. ⁴ Then David assembled the children of Aaron and the Levites: ⁵ of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and one hundred and twenty of his ^[n]brethren; ⁶ of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brethren; ⁷ of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brethren; ⁸ of the sons of ^(AH)Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and two hundred of his brethren; ⁹ of the sons of ^(AI)Hebron, Eliel the chief, and eighty of his brethren; ¹⁰ of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brethren.

¹¹ And David called for ^(AJ)Zadok and ^(AK)Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. ¹² He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; ^[o]sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³ For ^(AL)because you did not do it the first time, ^(AM)the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him ^[p]about the proper order.”

¹⁴ So the priests and the Levites ^[q]sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁵ And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as ^(AN)Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

¹⁶ Then David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers accompanied by instruments of music, stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, by raising the voice with resounding joy. ¹⁷ So the Levites appointed ^(AO)Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, ^(AP)Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of their brethren, the sons of Merari, ^(AQ)Ethan the son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸ and with them their brethren of the second rank: Zechariah, ^[r]Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the gatekeepers; ¹⁹ the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound the cymbals of bronze; ²⁰ Zechariah, ^[s]Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with strings according to ^(AR)Alamoth; ²¹ Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, to direct with harps on the ^(AS)Sheminith; ²² Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was instructor in charge of the music, because he was skillful; ²³ Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark; ²⁴ Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, ^(AT)were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God; and ^(AU)Obed-Edom and Jehiah, doorkeepers for the ark.

²⁵ So ^(AV)David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom with joy. ²⁶ And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷ David was clothed with a robe of fine ^(AW)linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music master with the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. ^28 (AX)Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn, with trumpets and with cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps.

²⁹ And it happened, ^(AY)as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the City of David, that Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David whirling and playing music; and she despised him in her heart.

The Ark Placed in the Tabernacle^(AZ)

16 So ^(BA)they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. ² And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, ^(BB)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. ³ Then he distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.

⁴ And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to ^(BC)commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then ^(BD)Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals; ⁶ Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God.

David’s Song of Thanksgiving^(BE)

⁷ On that day ^(BF)David ^(BG)first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord:

And all ^(BW)the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Regular Worship Maintained

³⁷ So he left ^(BX)Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark regularly, as every day’s work ^(BY)required; ³⁸ and ^(BZ)Obed-Edom with his sixty-eight brethren, including Obed-Edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be gatekeepers; ³⁹ and Zadok the priest and his brethren the priests, ^(CA)before the tabernacle of the Lord ^(CB)at the ^[u]high place that was at Gibeon, ⁴⁰ to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly ^(CC)morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the Law of the Lord which He commanded Israel; ⁴¹ and with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, ^(CD)because His mercy endures forever; ⁴² and with them Heman and Jeduthun, to sound aloud with trumpets and cymbals and the musical instruments of God. Now the sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers.

^43 (CE)Then all the people departed, every man to his house; and David returned to bless his house.