The Ark Brought from Kiriath-Jearim

13 David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers (A)who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, (B)for we did not seek it[a] in the days of Saul.” All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

Uzzah and the Ark

(C)So David assembled all Israel (D)from the (E)Nile[b] of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God (F)from Kiriath-jearim. (G)And David and all Israel went up to (H)Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord who (I)sits enthroned above the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of (J)Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio[c] were driving the cart. And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and (K)lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

And when they came to the threshing floor of (L)Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. 10 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down (M)because he put out his hand to the ark, and (N)he died there before God. 11 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza[d] to this day. 12 And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” 13 So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house (O)of Obed-edom the Gittite. 14 And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. (P)And the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 13:3 Or him
  2. 1 Chronicles 13:5 Hebrew Shihor
  3. 1 Chronicles 13:7 Or and his brother
  4. 1 Chronicles 13:11 Perez-uzza means the breaking out against Uzzah

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. 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. Then let’s bring the Ark of God back to us, because we didn’t consult it during Saul’s reign.”[d] The entire community consented, because doing so pleased all the people. 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.

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] They mounted the Ark of God on a new cart, bringing it from Abinadab’s home, with Uzzah and Ahio driving the cart. 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. 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.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 13:1 Lit. Nagid; i.e. a senior officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and administrative authority
  2. 1 Chronicles 13:1 The Heb. lacks groups of
  3. 1 Chronicles 13:2 Lit. David
  4. 1 Chronicles 13:3 Lit. days
  5. 1 Chronicles 13:6 The Heb. lacks the
  6. 1 Chronicles 13:8 The Heb. lacks their
  7. 1 Chronicles 13:8 Cf. 2Sam 6:5, where MT letters of the word song may be transposed as MT word cypress
  8. 1 Chronicles 13:11 Or had burst out against
  9. 1 Chronicles 13:11 The Heb. name Perez-uzzah means Overwhelming Uzzah; cf. 2Sam 5:20, 6:8