The Ark is Moved from Kiriath-jearim^(A)

13 Later, David conferred with every officer^[a] in charge of groups of thousands and groups of^[b] hundreds. ² Then he^[c] addressed the entire community of Israel, “If it seems good to you and something from the Lord our God, let’s spread word to all of our relatives who remain throughout the entire land of Israel, including the priests and descendants of Levi in the cities and pasture lands, so they can gather together with us. ³ Then let’s bring the Ark of God back to us, because we didn’t consult it during Saul’s reign.”^{[d] 4} The entire community consented, because doing so pleased all the people. ⁵ So David assembled all of Israel—from the Shihor River of Egypt to Lebo-hamath—in order to bring the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

⁶ David, accompanied by all of Israel, went up to Baalah (the former name of Kiriath-jearim), which belonged to Judah, to bring from there the Ark of God, the Lord, who sits enthroned on the cherubim, and who is called the Name.^{[e] 7} They mounted the Ark of God on a new cart, bringing it from Abinadab’s home, with Uzzah and Ahio driving the cart. ⁸ David and all of Israel were dancing in the presence of God with all of their^[f] might with songs,^[g] harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. ⁹ As they approached Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen had stumbled. ¹⁰ Just then, the anger of the Lord blazed against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark, and he died right there in the presence of God.

¹¹ David flew into a rage because the Lord had killed^[h] Uzzah. As a result, that place was called Perez-uzzah^[i] to this day. ¹² But David feared God that day, and asked “How am I to bring the Ark of God to me?” ¹³ As a result, David would not take the ark into the City of David for it to be in his care. Instead, he took it to the home of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ So the Ark of God remained in the care of Obed-edom’s household for three months, and God blessed Obed-edom’s household, along with everyone associated with it.

The Ark is Moved to Jerusalem

²⁵ Then David, the elders of Israel, and the leaders of groups of thousands^[a] proceeded to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Obed-edom’s house, rejoicing as they went.^{[b] 26} As God helped the descendants of Levi who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷ David wore a robe made from fine linen, as did all of the descendants of Levi who were carrying the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music and choir director. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸ All of Israel were bringing up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, accompanied by shouting, sounding of horns, trumpets, and cymbals, along with loud music on harps and lyres. ²⁹ But as the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord approached the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal was peering out a window, watching King David dancing and cavorting around, and she despised him in her heart.

The Ark is Placed in the Tent^(A)

16 They brought the Ark of God, placed it within the tent that David had erected, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the presence of God. ² After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord ³ and distributed a loaf of bread, a date bar, and a raisin bar to every person in Israel—that is, to each man and to each woman.