¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that ^(A)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, ^(B)but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

⁶ And when they came to the threshing floor of ^(A)Nacon, Uzzah ^(B)put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and ^(C)God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.

The Reading of the Law

⁹ Then Moses ^(A)wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, ^(B)who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.

⁹ But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with ^(A)the service of the holy things that ^(B)had to be carried on the shoulder.

⁹ And when they came to the threshing floor of ^(A)Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down ^(B)because he put out his hand to the ark, and ^(C)he died there before God.

²¹ Then the Kohathites set out, ^(A)carrying the holy things, and ^(B)the tabernacle was set up before their arrival.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

¹⁸ For you have not come to ^(A)what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹ and ^(B)the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words ^(C)made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not endure the order that was given, ^(D)“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹ Indeed, ^(E)so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ²² But you have come to ^(F)Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, ^(G)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to ^(H)innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to ^(I)the assembly^[a] of the firstborn who are ^(J)enrolled in heaven, and to ^(K)God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, ^(L)the mediator of a new covenant, and to ^(M)the sprinkled blood ^(N)that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For ^(O)if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶ At that time ^(P)his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ^(Q)“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates ^(R)the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving ^(S)a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus ^(T)let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our ^(U)God is a consuming fire.

¹⁵ And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders ^(A)with the poles, ^(B)as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

² Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry ^(A)the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.