¹⁰ When they came to the ^[a]threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they ^(A)mourned there with a very great and ^[b]sorrowful lamentation; and he ^[c]observed seven days of mourning for his father.

¹¹ Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at ^[a]the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a ^[b]grievous ^[c]mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named ^[d]Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

³⁷ behold, I am putting a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will save Israel ^[a]through me, as You have spoken.”

² Now then, is Boaz not ^(A)our relative, with whose young women you were? Behold, he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight. ³ Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not reveal yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall ^[a]take notice of the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you should do.” ⁵ And she said to her, “^(B)All that you say I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. ⁷ When Boaz had eaten and drunk and ^(C)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and ^[b]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ So he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your slave. Now spread your garment over your slave, for you are a redeemer.” ¹⁰ Then he said, “^(D)May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first, by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ So now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you say, for all ^[c]my people in the city know that you are ^(E)a woman of excellence. ¹² But now, although it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is also a redeemer more closely related than I. ¹³ Remain this night, and when morning comes, ^(F)if he will ^[d]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to ^[e]redeem you, then I will redeem you, ^(G)as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, and got up before one person could recognize another; and he said, “^(H)Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

David Saves Keilah

23 Then they informed David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against ^(A)Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.”

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.