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2 Samuel 6
New American Standard Bible

Peril in Moving the Ark

6 (A)Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David [a]departed from [b](B)Baale-judah, with all the people who were with him, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the (C)Name, the very name of the Lord of armies who (D)is [c]enthroned above the cherubim. 3 They had mounted the ark of God on (E)a new cart and moved it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart. 4 So (F)they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. 5 Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel (G)were celebrating before the Lord (H)with all kinds of instruments made of juniper wood, and with [d]lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

6 But when they came to the (I)threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah (J)reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen nearly overturned it. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and (K)God struck him down there for [e]his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 Then David became angry because [f]of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah; and that place has been called [g]Perez-uzzah to this day. 9 So (L)David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 And David was unwilling to move the ark of the Lord into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of (M)Obed-edom, the Gittite. 11 The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord (N)blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

The Ark Is Brought to Jerusalem

12 Now it was reported to King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, on account of the ark of God.” (O)So David went and brought the ark of God up from the house of Obed-edom to (P)the city of David with joy. 13 And so it was, that [h]when (Q)those carrying the ark of the Lord marched six paces, he sacrificed an (R)ox and a fattened steer. 14 And (S)David was dancing before the Lord with all his strength, and David was (T)wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with joyful shouting and the sound of the trumpet.

16 Then it happened, as the ark of the Lord was coming into the city of David, that (U)Michal the daughter of Saul looked down through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she was contemptuous of him in her heart.

17 Now they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it (V)in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and (W)David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, (X)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of armies. 19 Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread, one of dates, and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people left, each to his house.

20 But when David returned to bless his own household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel dignified himself today! For (Y)he exposed himself today in the sight of his servants’ female slaves, as one of the (Z)rabble shamelessly exposes himself!” 21 But David said to Michal, “(AA)I was before the Lord, who preferred me to your father and to all his house, to appoint me as ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. So I will [i]celebrate before the Lord! 22 And I might demean myself even more than this and be lowly in my own sight, but with the female slaves of whom you have spoken, with them I am to be held in honor!” 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 6:2 Lit arose and went
  2. 2 Samuel 6:2 I.e., Kiriath-jearim
  3. 2 Samuel 6:2 Lit sitting
  4. 2 Samuel 6:5 Or zithers
  5. 2 Samuel 6:7 Lit the
  6. 2 Samuel 6:8 Lit the Lord broke through a breakthrough
  7. 2 Samuel 6:8 I.e., outburst against Uzzah
  8. 2 Samuel 6:13 Or each time those
  9. 2 Samuel 6:21 Or dance
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2 Samuel 6
Lexham English Bible

David Brings the Ark of Yahweh to Jerusalem

6 David again gathered all the chosen men in Israel, thirty thousand. 2 David got up and went and all the people who were with him, from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God which is called the name, the name of Yahweh of hosts, upon which the cherubim sit.[a] 3 They loaded the ark of God on a new utility cart, and they carried it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Now Uzza and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new utility cart along. 4 So they brought it out from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill with the ark of God, and Ahio was going before the ark. 5 Now David and all the house of Israel were dancing before Yahweh, with all kinds of musical instruments made from ash trees, and with zithers, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals. 6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzza reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen had stumbled. 7 Then the anger of Yahweh was kindled[b] against Uzza, and God struck him down there because of the indiscretion,[c] and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 David was angry[d] because Yahweh had burst out against Uzza, and he called that place Perez-Uzza until this day. 9 But David feared Yahweh on that day and said, “How can the ark of Yahweh come to me?” 10 However, David was not willing to bring the ark of Yahweh to himself, to the city of David, so David caused it to turn to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 So the ark of Yahweh remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and Yahweh blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

12 It was told to King David, “Yahweh has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and all that is his because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with jubilation. 13 It happened that when the carriers of the ark of Yahweh had marched six steps that he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. 14 Now David was dancing with all his might before Yahweh, and David was wearing[e] a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of Yahweh with shouts of joyful acclaim and with the sound of the trumpet. 16 It happened that when the ark of Yahweh came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked down through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before Yahweh, and she despised him in her heart.

17 They brought the ark of Yahweh and set it in its place in the middle of the tent which David had pitched for it. Then David offered up burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in the presence of Yahweh. 18 When David had finished from the sacrificing of the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh of hosts. 19 Then he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, from man to woman, to each: one ring-shaped piece of bread, one cake of dates, and one cake of raisins; and all the people went each to his house.

20 When David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David. She said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today by uncovering himself[f] before the eyes of the maids of his servants, as the total exposure of a worthless one.”[g] 21 So David said to Michal, “In the presence of Yahweh who chose me over[h] your father and over[i] his household, to appoint me as leader over the people of Yahweh, over Israel, I have celebrated before Yahweh. 22 I will demean myself again more than this, and I will be abased in my eyes, but with the maids whom you mentioned, with them I will be honored.” 23 So for Michal the daughter of Saul, she had no child until the day of her death.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 6:2 Literally “the cherubim are sitting on him”
  2. 2 Samuel 6:7 Literally “Then the nose of Yahweh became hot”
  3. 2 Samuel 6:7 Legal regulations offered by Moses did not permit an Israelite to handle the ark of the covenant in this manner (compare Exod 25:12–16)
  4. 2 Samuel 6:8 Literally “It was hot for David”
  5. 2 Samuel 6:14 Hebrew “girded with”
  6. 2 Samuel 6:20 Literally “who has uncovered himself”
  7. 2 Samuel 6:20 Literally “as the total uncovering of one of the worthless”
  8. 2 Samuel 6:21 Literally “more than”
  9. 2 Samuel 6:21 Literally “more than”
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2 Samuel 5
2 Samuel 7
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