⁶ When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of^(A) the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. ⁷ The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act;^(B) therefore God struck him down,^(C) and he died there beside the ark of God.

⁸ Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath^(D) had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.^[a](E)

⁹ David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How^(F) can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” ¹⁰ He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom^(G) the Gittite. ¹¹ The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.^(H)

¹² Now King David^(I) was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.

Paul Arrested

²⁷ When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,^{(A) 28} shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”^{(B) 29} (They had previously seen Trophimus^(C) the Ephesian^(D) in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

³⁰ The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,^(E) they dragged him^(F) from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. ³¹ While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³² He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.^(G)

³³ The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound^(H) with two^(I) chains.^(J) Then he asked who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,^(K) and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.^{(L) 35} When Paul reached the steps,^(M) the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. ³⁶ The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”^(N)

Paul Speaks to the Crowd^(O)

³⁷ As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks,^(P) he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”

“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. ³⁸ “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness^(Q) some time ago?”^(R)

³⁹ Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus^(S) in Cilicia,^(T) a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”