1 Chronicles 13
Tree of Life Version
Ark Retrieved from Kiriath-jearim
13 Then David consulted with the officers of the thousands and of the hundreds, with every leader. 2 David said to the entire assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and is from Adonai Eloheinu, let us spread the word to our kinsmen who remain in all the regions of Israel, along with the kohanim and Levites in their towns and pasturelands to come and join us. 3 Let us bring the Ark of our God back to us—for we did not inquire of it in the days of Saul.” 4 The entire assembly agreed to do so, for the proposal seemed right in the eyes of all the people.
5 So David assembled all Israel from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamat, to bring the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. 6 David and all Israel went up to Baalah, to Kiriath-jearim, that was in Judah to bring up from there the Ark of God, Adonai who sits enthroned above the cheruvim, which is called by His Name.
7 They transported the Ark of God upon a new cart from the house of Abinadab. Uzza and Ahio guided the cart 8 while David and all Israel celebrated before God with all their might, with songs, lyres, harps, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets. 9 But when they came to the threshing-floor of Hidon, Uzza reached out his hand to hold the Ark, because the oxen stumbled. 10 The anger of Adonai burned against Uzza, and He struck him down, because he reached out his hand and touched the Ark. He died there before God.
11 David was angry because Adonai had burst out against Uzza. So he called that place Perez-uzza as it is to this day.
12 David feared God that day, saying, “How can I ever bring the Ark of God to me?”
13 So David did not take the Ark with him to the City of David, but left it in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 14 So the Ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; Adonai blessed the house of Obed-edom and everything that he had.
1 Chronicles 13
EasyEnglish Bible
David starts to bring the Covenant Box to Jerusalem
13 David spoke with the officers of his army. Some of them were the leaders of 1,000 men. Other officers were the leaders of 100 men. 2 Then David said to all the Israelites who were present, ‘I think that we should send a message to our relatives in all the regions of Israel. That should include the priests and the Levites in the towns where they live. We should ask all those people to meet with us here. We will do it if you agree that it is a good idea, and if the Lord our God wants us to do it. 3 We should bring back the Covenant Box of our God. While Saul was king, we did not use it to ask God about things.’
4 All the people there agreed that this was a good idea. They realized that it was the right thing to do.
5 So David brought together all the Israelites. They came from everywhere in Israel, from the Shihor River in Egypt, and as far as Lebo-Hamath. They came to bring God's Covenant Box back from Kiriath-Jearim.[a] 6 David and all the Israelites went to Baalah, a town in Judah. (Baalah is also called Kiriath-Jearim.) They went to bring the Covenant Box of God from there to Jerusalem. The Israelites called it by the name of the Lord. He sits as King between the two cherubs that are on the top of the Covenant Box.
7 The people put God's Covenant Box on a new cart. They took it out of Abinadab's house. Uzzah and Ahio were leading the cart. 8 David and all the Israelites were singing and dancing with all their strength to praise God. They made music with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.
9 They reached the place of Kidon's threshing floor. There the oxen that were pulling the cart almost fell. So Uzzah reached out to hold the Covenant Box to stop it falling. 10 The Lord was very angry with Uzzah because he had touched the Covenant Box. He knocked Uzzah down to the ground. Uzzah died there, beside God's Covenant Box.[b]
11 David was angry because the Lord had punished Uzzah. So he called that place ‘Perez Uzzah’. That is still its name today.[c]
12 So David now became afraid of God. He said, ‘God's Covenant Box is too holy to take with me.’ 13 So he did not take the Covenant Box to the City of David to be with him there. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom, who came from Gath. 14 God's Covenant Box stayed in the home of Obed-Edom's family for three months. During that time, the Lord blessed Obed-Edom's family and everything that he had.
Footnotes
- 13:5 Shihor river was on the border of Egypt in the south of Israel. Lebo-Hamath was in the north of Israel. Kiriath-Jearim was about 8 miles west of Jerusalem. It was on the border between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah.
- 13:10 Uzzah did not obey God's rules about the Covenant Box. He showed that he did not understand that God is holy. See Exodus 25:12-14; Numbers 4:5-6,15.
- 13:11 ‘Perez Uzzah’ means ‘punishment of Uzzah’.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
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