2 Samuel 6
New King James Version
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem(A)
6 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And (B)David arose and went with all the people who were with him from [a]Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called [b]by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, (C)who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on (D)the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new [c]cart. 4 And they brought it out of (E)the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel (F)played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
6 And when they came to (G)Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his (H)hand to the ark of God and [d]took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his [e]error; and he died there by the ark of God. 8 And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place [f]Perez Uzzah to this day.
9 (I)David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the (J)City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the (K)Gittite. 11 (L)The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord (M)blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.
12 Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” (N)So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. 13 And so it was, when (O)those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed (P)oxen and fatted sheep. 14 Then David (Q)danced[g] before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing (R)a linen ephod. 15 (S)So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.
16 Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, (T)Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 17 So (U)they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in (V)its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David (W)offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, (X)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19 (Y)Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.
20 (Z)Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, (AA)uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the (AB)base fellows [h]shamelessly uncovers himself!”
21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, (AC)who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the (AD)people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. 22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”
23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children (AE)to the day of her death.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 6:2 Baalah, Kirjath Jearim, Josh. 15:9; 1 Chr. 13:6
- 2 Samuel 6:2 LXX, Tg., Vg. omit by the Name; many Heb. mss., Syr. there
- 2 Samuel 6:3 LXX adds with the ark
- 2 Samuel 6:6 held it
- 2 Samuel 6:7 Or irreverence
- 2 Samuel 6:8 Lit. Outburst Against Uzzah
- 2 Samuel 6:14 whirled about
- 2 Samuel 6:20 openly
2 Samuel 6
Tree of Life Version
Ark Comes Into Jerusalem
6 Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, 30,000. 2 Then David and all the people who were with him arose and set out from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name[a], the very Name of Adonai-Tzva’ot who is enthroned between the cheruvim. 3 So they loaded the ark of God on a new cart and carried it out of the house of Abinadab that was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, drove the new cart 4 as they brought it from the house of Abinadab (which was on the hill) with the ark of God, and Ahio was walking in front of the ark.
5 Meanwhile David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating before Adonai with all kinds of instruments made of cypress wood, with harps, lyres, tambourines, three-stringed instruments and cymbals[b]. 6 But when they reached the threshing floor of Nahon, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and grasped it, for the oxen had stumbled. 7 Then the anger of Adonai was kindled against Uzzah. God struck him down there for his irreverence, so that he died there beside the ark of God. 8 David was upset because of Adonai’s outburst against Uzzah. That place is called Perez-uzzah[c] to this day.
9 So David was frightened of Adonai that day. Then he said, “How can the ark of Adonai come to me?” 10 David was unwilling to move the ark of Adonai to him, to the City of David; instead, David diverted it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 So the ark of Adonai remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; meanwhile Adonai blessed Obed-edom and his entire household.
12 Then it was reported to King David saying, “Adonai has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought the ark of God up from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with joy. 13 Now when the bearers of the ark of Adonai had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. 14 Meanwhile, David was dancing before Adonai with all his might while he was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of Adonai with shouting and with the sound of the shofar. 16 But as the ark of Adonai entered the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before Adonai, so she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought in the ark of Adonai and set it in its place in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Adonai. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of Adonai-Tzva’ot. 19 Then he distributed to all the people—to the whole multitude of Israel, men and women alike—to everyone a loaf of bread, a cake made in a pan and a raisin cake. Then all the people departed, each to his home.
20 David returned to bless his own household. But Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today, when he uncovered himself today in the eyes of the slave girls of his subjects, as any vulgar fellow would shamelessly uncover himself!”
21 “It was before Adonai,” David said to Michal, “who chose me instead of your father and all his household, appointing me ruler over the people of Adonai, over Israel! So I danced Before Adonai, 22 and will dishonor myself even more than this, and will be low in my own eyes. Yet in the eyes of the slave girls whom you mentioned, I will be honored.” 23 So Saul’s daughter Michal had no children to the day of her death.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 6:2 Meaning, the unspeakable name of God, see Adonai in the glossary.
- 2 Samuel 6:5 Heb. related to three; triangle or three-barred sistrum.
- 2 Samuel 6:8 Meaning, outburst of Uzzah.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
