Peril in Moving the Ark

6 ^(A)Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. ² And David arose and went with all the people who were with him to ^[a](B)Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the ^(C)Name, the very name of the Lord of hosts who ^(D)is ^[b]enthroned above the cherubim. ³ They ^[c]placed the ark of God on ^(E)a new cart that they might bring 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 ^[d]fir wood, and with 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, for the oxen nearly upset 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 David became angry because ^[f]of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, and that place is 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 Thus the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord ^(N)blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

The Ark Is Brought to Jerusalem

¹² Now it was told 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)David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into ^(P)the city of David with gladness. ¹³ And so it was, that when the ^(Q)bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ^(R)ox and a fatling. ¹⁴ And ^(S)David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was ^[h](T)wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶ Then it happened as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David that ^(U)Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ So 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 offering, ^(X)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ¹⁹ Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house.

²⁰ But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! ^(Y)He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the ^(Z)foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” ²¹ So David said to Michal, “^(AA)It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.” ²³ Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

Peril in Transporting the Ark

13 Then David consulted with the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, even with every leader. ² David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, let us send everywhere to our kinsmen who remain in all the land of Israel, also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their cities with pasture lands, that they may meet with us; ³ and let us bring back the ark of our God to us, ^(A)for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” ⁴ Then all the assembly said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

^5 (B)So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, ^(C)to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ^6 (D)David and all Israel went up to ^(E)Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, the Lord ^(F)who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is called. ⁷ They ^[a]carried the ark of God on a new cart from ^(G)the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. ⁸ David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, ^(H)even with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals and with trumpets.

⁹ When they came to ^(I)the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly upset it. ¹⁰ The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, so He struck him down ^(J)because he put out his hand to the ark; ^(K)and he died there before God. ¹¹ Then David became angry because ^[b]of the Lord’s outburst against Uzza; and he called that place ^[c]Perez-uzza to this day. ¹² David was afraid of God that day, saying, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” ¹³ So David did not take the ark with him to the city of David, but took it aside ^(L)to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ Thus the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and ^(M)the Lord blessed the family of Obed-edom with all that he had.

Lament over Defeat in Battle, and Prayer for Help.

For the choir director; according to ^[a]Shushan Eduth. A ^[b]Mikhtam of David, to teach; ^[c]when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

Paul before the Council

23 Paul, looking intently at ^(A)the ^[a]Council, said, “^(B)Brethren, ^(C)I have ^[b]lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” ² The high priest ^(D)Ananias commanded those standing beside him ^(E)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, ^(F)you whitewashed wall! Do you ^(G)sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” ⁴ But the bystanders said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” ⁵ And Paul said, “I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘^(H)You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ But perceiving that one group were ^(I)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in ^(J)the ^[c]Council, “^(K)Brethren, ^(L)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for ^(M)the hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For ^(N)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ And there occurred a great uproar; and some of ^(O)the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “^(P)We find nothing wrong with this man; ^(Q)suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ And as a great dissension was developing, the ^[d]commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ^(R)the barracks.

¹¹ But on ^(S)the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “^(T)Take courage; for ^(U)as you have ^(V)solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.”

A Conspiracy to Kill Paul

¹² When it was day, ^(W)the Jews formed a ^[e]conspiracy and ^(X)bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who formed this plot. ¹⁴ They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have ^(Y)bound ourselves under a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now therefore, you ^[f]and ^(Z)the ^[g]Council notify the ^[h]commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case by a more thorough investigation; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near the place.”

¹⁶ But the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, ^[i]and he came and entered ^(AA)the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the ^[j]commander, for he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and led him to the ^[k]commander and *said, “Paul ^(AB)the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.” ¹⁹ The ^[l]commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰ And he said, “^(AC)The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to ^(AD)the ^[m]Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. ²¹ So do not ^[n]listen to them, for more than forty of them are ^(AE)lying in wait for him who have ^(AF)bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him; and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.” ²² So the ^[o]commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

Paul Moved to Caesarea

²³ And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by ^[p]the third hour of the night to proceed to ^(AG)Caesarea, ^[q]with seventy horsemen and two hundred ^[r]spearmen.” ²⁴ They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to ^(AH)Felix the governor. ²⁵ And he wrote a letter having this form:

³¹ So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² But the next day, leaving ^(AU)the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to ^(AV)the barracks. ³³ When these had come to ^(AW)Caesarea and delivered the letter to ^(AX)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. ³⁴ When he had read it, he asked from what ^(AY)province he was, and when he learned that ^(AZ)he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing after your ^(BA)accusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be ^(BB)kept in Herod’s ^[w]Praetorium.