The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(A)(B)

6 David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. ² He and all his men went to Baalah^[a](C) in Judah to bring up from there the ark^(D) of God, which is called by the Name,^[b](E) the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned^(F) between the cherubim^(G) on the ark. ³ They set the ark of God on a new cart^(H) and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.^(I) Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart ⁴ with the ark of God on it,^[c] and Ahio was walking in front of it. ⁵ David and all Israel were celebrating^(J) with all their might before the Lord, with castanets,^[d] harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.^(K)

⁶ When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of^(L) the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. ⁷ The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act;^(M) therefore God struck him down,^(N) and he died there beside the ark of God.

⁸ Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath^(O) had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.^[e](P)

⁹ David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How^(Q) can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” ¹⁰ He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom^(R) the Gittite. ¹¹ The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.^(S)

¹² Now King David^(T) was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed^(U) a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ Wearing a linen ephod,^(V) David was dancing^(W) before the Lord with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts^(X) and the sound of trumpets.^(Y)

¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David,^(Z) Michal^(AA) daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it,^(AB) and David sacrificed burnt offerings^(AC) and fellowship offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing^(AD) the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed^(AE) the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. ¹⁹ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins^(AF) to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women.^(AG) And all the people went to their homes.

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked^(AH) in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed^(AI) me ruler^(AJ) over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

²³ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Awaiting the New Body

5 For we know that if the earthly^(A) tent^(B) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan,^(C) longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,^{(D) 3} because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan^(E) and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,^(F) so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.^(G)

⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight.^{(H) 8} We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.^{(I) 9} So we make it our goal to please him,^(J) whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us^(K) for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

¹¹ Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord,^(L) we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.^{(M) 12} We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again,^(N) but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us,^(O) so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. ¹³ If we are “out of our mind,”^(P) as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.^{(Q) 15} And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves^(R) but for him who died for them^(S) and was raised again.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly^(T) point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,^(U) the new creation^(V) has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here!^{(W) 18} All this is from God,^(X) who reconciled us to himself through Christ^(Y) and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.^(Z) And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,^(AA) as though God were making his appeal through us.^(AB) We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.^{(AC) 21} God made him who had no sin^(AD) to be sin^[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.^(AE)