⁴ Everyone agreed with David that this was right: the chest of the covenant should be among the people. ⁵ So David assembled Israel, from the Shihor of Egypt to the entrance of Hamath in Aram, to take the covenant chest of God from Kiriath-jearim. ⁶ Everyone went up to Baalah (also known as Kiriath-jearim) in Judah to take the covenant chest of God where the Eternal sits between the winged heavenly creatures and His name is called. ⁷ They carried the covenant chest of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab; Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. ⁸ David and all Israel rejoiced with all their might with songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets as a celebration before God.

⁹ When they arrived at the threshing floor of Chidon, the oxen tripped, nearly tipping the covenant chest off the cart, so Uzza reached out to steady it. ¹⁰ The Eternal was enraged at Uzza because he touched the chest and defiled its sanctity, ignoring God’s instructions never to touch it, so He killed the man in His presence. ¹¹ David was angry at the Eternal’s retribution against Uzza, so the king named that place Perez-uzza, meaning “broken Uzza,” as it still is called today. ¹² David feared God and wondered, “How can I bring the covenant chest of God, something with such awesome power, home with me?” ¹³ Instead of bringing it to the city of David, he took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, who was from Gath Rammon (a Levitical city). ¹⁴ There the covenant chest of God remained three months before David moved it to Jerusalem, and the Eternal blessed Obed-edom’s family in everything.

15 David founded the city of David as his capital and built his palaces there. But in his zeal to rebuild Jerusalem and build his palaces, He prepared a place for the covenant chest of God in a tent adjacent to the palace. ^2-3 Then David invited the people of Israel to Jerusalem for a parade celebrating the arrival of the covenant chest of the Eternal.

⁴ So David gathered the men of Aaron and the other Levites: ⁵ the men of Kohath (Uriel the chief and 120 of his relatives), ⁶ the men of Merari (Asaiah the chief and 220 of his relatives), ⁷ the men of Gershom (Joel the chief and 130 of his relatives), ⁸ the men of Elizaphan (Shemaiah the chief and 200 of his relatives), ⁹ the men of Hebron (Eliel the chief and 80 of his relatives), and ¹⁰ the men of Uzziel (Amminadab the chief and 112 of his relatives).

¹¹ When they had all gathered together, David summoned Zadok and Abiathar (two priests) and the other Levites: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

¹⁴ After the priests and the Levites were consecrated for their duty, David and the Levites organized the city’s processional in honor of the chest of the Eternal, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ The Levites picked up the covenant chest of God and carried it by wooden poles on their shoulders as the Eternal commanded them to do through His prophet Moses. ¹⁶ David told the leaders of the Levites to select their relatives as musicians and singers in the parade, playing instruments such as lutes, lyres, and cymbals and raising their voices in joy. ¹⁷ So the Levites appointed Heman (son of Joel) and his kinsmen, Asaph (son of Berechiah), the sons of Merari, and Ethan (son of Kushaiah). ¹⁸ With these men were their assistants: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, along with Obed-edom and Jeiel who were gatekeepers.

¹⁹ The celebration began with a parade. The assembled singers (Heman, Asaph, and Ethan) sounded their bronze cymbals; ²⁰ Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah played their lutes tuned to alamoth, ²¹ and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah played their lyres tuned to sheminith. ²² Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, directed the singing because of his musical ability, ²³ while Berechia and Elkanah led the gatekeepers. ²⁴ Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer (all priests) blew their clarions at the front of the parade in front of the covenant chest of God, as Obed-edom and Jehiah carried it. ²⁵ In this manner, David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands prepared to move the covenant chest of the Eternal from the house of Obed-edom into its high place in Jerusalem with rejoicing. ²⁶ As God was helping the Levites to carry the heavy covenant chest, they offered seven wild bulls and seven stags to Him. ²⁷ David, all the Levites carrying the chest, the singers, and Chenaniah the song leader were dressed in fine linen robes. The king also wore a linen priestly vest. ²⁸ All Israel celebrated the chest’s journey to its tent, rejoicing with the sound of trumpets, clarions, and cymbals, and worshiping with harps and lyres.

²⁹ When the covenant chest of the Eternal entered the city of David, Michal (the daughter of Saul and David’s wife) gazed out of a window and saw her husband dancing and celebrating in the parade. At that moment, Michal hated David.

16 The Levites set the covenant chest of God down in the middle of the tent David had built for it, and they made sacrifices and burnt offerings before God. ² When David finished these rituals of burnt offerings and peace offerings he blessed the people under the Eternal’s authority. ³ He gave a loaf of bread, a date roll,^[a] and a raisin cake to every man and woman in Israel. ⁴ He appointed some of the Levites as servants of the covenant chest of the Eternal, as officers to commemorate, to give thanks, and to give praise to the Eternal One, God of Israel. ⁵ Asaph was the head of the servants, next Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-edom. Jeiel was over all instruments, including a ten-stringed harp and lyre, while Asaph played the cymbals. ⁶ Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests played trumpets regularly before the covenant chest of God. ⁷ That day, at the end of the parade, David gave this first song of thanks to Asaph and his brothers:

³⁷ So David left Asaph and his brothers at the covenant chest of the Eternal to serve it continually, performing the daily rituals. ³⁸ Obed-edom and the 68 brothers served, with Obed-edom (son of Jeduthun) and Hosah as the gatekeepers.

³⁹ Zadok (the priest) and his fellow priests lived before the congregation tent of the Eternal in the high place at Gibeon ⁴⁰ to burn offerings continually to Him upon the altar in the morning and evening, as God had commanded Israel. ^41-42 With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those who are chosen and recorded here who gave testimony about the Eternal, whose loyal love never ends, using clarions, cymbals, other instruments, and songs. The sons of Jeduthun were assigned to be gatekeepers at Gibeon. ⁴³ Once the congregation tent was prepared, all the people returned to their homes, and David returned to bless his own house.