Bringing Back the Box of the Agreement

13 David talked with all the officers of his army. ² Then he called the Israelites together and said, “If you think it is a good idea, and if it is what the Lord our God wants, let us send a message to our brothers in all the areas of Israel. Let’s also send the message to the priests and Levites who live with our brothers in their towns and the fields near those towns. Let the message tell them to come and join us. ³ Let’s bring our God’s Holy Box back to us in Jerusalem. We did not pay attention to it while Saul was king.” ⁴ So all the Israelites agreed with David. They all thought it was the right thing to do.

⁵ So David gathered all the Israelites from the Shihor River in Egypt to the town of Lebo Hamath. They came together to bring the Box of the Agreement back from the town of Kiriath Jearim. ⁶ David and all the Israelites with him went to Baalah of Judah. (Baalah is another name for Kiriath Jearim.) They went there to bring out the Holy Box of God the Lord, who sits above the Cherub angels. It is the Box that is called by his name.

⁷ The people moved God’s Holy Box from Abinadab’s house and put it on a new wagon. Uzzah and Ahio were driving the wagon.

⁸ David and all the Israelites were celebrating before God. They were praising God and singing songs. They were playing harps, lyres, drums, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ They came to Kidon’s threshing floor. The oxen pulling the wagon stumbled, and the Holy Box almost fell. Uzzah reached out with his hand to catch it. ¹⁰ The Lord became very angry with Uzzah and killed him because he touched the Holy Box. So Uzzah died there before God. ¹¹ And David was angry because the Lord had shown his anger in killing Uzzah. So that place has been called “Perez Uzzah”^[a] ever since then.

¹² That day David began to fear what God might do to him. So he said, “Should I really be the one in charge of God’s Holy Box?” ¹³ So he did not take the Holy Box with him to the City of David. He left it at Obed Edom’s house. Obed Edom was from the city of Gath. ¹⁴ God’s Holy Box stayed with Obed Edom’s family in his house for three months. The Lord blessed Obed Edom’s family and everything Obed Edom owned.