1 Chronicles 15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
15 David[a] built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.(A) 2 Then David commanded that no one but the Levites were to carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.(B) 3 David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it.(C) 4 Then David gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with one hundred twenty of his kindred; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with two hundred twenty of his kindred; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with one hundred thirty of his kindred; 8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with two hundred of his kindred;(D) 9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with eighty of his kindred;(E) 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with one hundred twelve of his kindred.
11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.(F) 12 He said to them, “You are the heads of families of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your kindred, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.(G) 13 Because you did not carry it[b] the first time,[c] the Lord our God burst out against us because we did not give it proper care.”(H) 14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.(I) 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.(J)
16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their kindred as singers to raise loud sounds of joy on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals.(K) 17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; and of his kindred Asaph son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their kindred, Ethan son of Kushaiah;(L) 18 and with them their kindred of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19 The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth, 21 but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to the Sheminith.[d] 22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music, for he understood it. 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah also were to be gatekeepers for the ark.(M)
25 So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of the thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing.(N) 26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers, and David wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres.(O)
29 As the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.(P)
Read full chapter
1 Chronicles 15
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Successful Move of the Ark to Jerusalem
15 David constructed buildings for himself in the City of David. He established a place for the Ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
2 Then David said, “Nobody is to carry God’s ark except the Levites, because the Lord chose them to carry the Ark of the Lord and to serve him forever.” 3 David gathered all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the Ark of the Lord to the place that he had prepared for it.
4 David gathered the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:
5 representing the sons of Kohath were Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives,[a]
6 representing the sons of Merari were Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives,
7 representing the sons of Gershom were Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives,
8 representing the sons of Elizaphan were Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives,
9 representing the sons of Hebron were Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives,
10 representing the sons of Uzziel were Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.
11 So David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, “You are the leading fathers of the descendants of Levi. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers. Bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place prepared for it, 13 because the first time, when you were not there, the Lord our God burst out against us, because we did not inquire about and follow the proper procedures.”
14 The priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 The descendants of Levi carried the Ark of God with poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. 16 David told the leading officials of the Levites to appoint their brother Levites as singers with musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals, to raise their voices for the people to hear with joy.
17 The Levites appointed Heman son of Joel, and from the Levites closely related to him they appointed Asaph son of Berekiah, and from their relatives who were the descendants of Merari they appointed Ethan son of Kushaiah.
18 Their brother Levites assigned to serve with them on the second level were Zechariah,[b] Ja’aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Ma’aseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed Edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.[c]
19 Also appointed were the singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, to sound the bronze cymbals,
20 Zechariah, Aziel,[d] Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Ma’aseiah, and Benaiah, to play the harps according to alamoth,
21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah with lyres, to lead according to sheminith.[e]
22 Kenaniah was musical leader of the Levites, directing the music because he had the skill.
23 Berekiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the Ark.
24 The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were directed to blow trumpets before the Ark of God.
Obed Edom and Jehiah were also gatekeepers for the Ark.
25 David, the elders of Israel, and the leaders of the units of a thousand were going to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed Edom. They were celebrating as they went, 26 because God was helping the Levites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a fine linen robe, as were all of the Levites who were carrying the ark, the singers, and Kenaniah, the choir director for the singers. David was wearing a special linen vest.[f]
28 All Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sound of the ram’s horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and with music on harps and lyres. 29 When the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came to the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out through the window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- 1 Chronicles 15:5 Literally brothers
- 1 Chronicles 15:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts have the word ben (son of) between Zechariah and Ja’aziel. If this reading is followed, the text originally read Zechariah, son of Ja’aziel, or the text includes the name of another Levite and reads Zechariah, Ben, Ja’aziel. The reading followed in the translation, which treats ben as an accidental addition, is supported by some Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek text.
- 1 Chronicles 15:18 Because of the overlap of the groups and the irregular use of and in the Hebrew, it is uncertain how the groups in verses 18-21 are arranged and how they relate to each other.
- 1 Chronicles 15:20 Very likely a variant of Ja’aziel in verse 18
- 1 Chronicles 15:21 Alamoth in verse 20 and sheminith in verse 21 are musical terms of uncertain meaning. They seem to refer to a method of tuning the instruments.
- 1 Chronicles 15:27 Hebrew ephod. The ephod was usually a vest-like garment for priests.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.