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¹ AGAIN David gathered together all the young men of Israel, thirty thousand.² And David arose with all the people who were with him of the men of Judah and went to Geba to bring up from thence the ark of God, for at that place was invoked the name of the LORD of hosts, who dwells upon the cherubim.³ And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah; and Uzzah and Ahia, the sons of Abinadab, drove the cart, walking behind it.⁴ And they brought the ark of God out of the house of Abinadab which was in Gibeah, and Ahia went before the ark.⁵ And David and all the house of Israel danced before the LORD waving branches of cedar trees and cypress, and played upon harps and lyres and timbrels and cornets and cymbals.

⁶ And when they came to the threshing floors, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of the LORD, and took hold of it; for the oxen broke loose from the harness.⁷ And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and the LORD smote him there because he put forth his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.⁸ And David was displeased because the LORD had stricken Uzzah; and he called the name of that place Toraetha-uzzah, and so it is called even to this day.⁹ And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and he said, How shall I bring in the ark of the LORD to me?¹⁰ So David was unwilling to bring the ark of God with him into the city of David; but David took it aside into the house of Ober-edom the Gittite.¹¹ And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Ober-edom the Gittite three months; and the LORD blessed Ober-edom the Gittite, and all his household because of the ark of the LORD.

¹² And it was told King David, saying, The LORD has blessed Ober-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of the LORD. So David went and brought up the ark of the LORD from the house of Ober-edom into the city of David with gladness.¹³ And it was so that when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, David sacrificed fat oxen.¹⁴ And David sang praises before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.¹⁵ 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 And as the ark of the LORD came past the house of David, Malchel Sauls daughter looked through a window and saw King David rejoicing and dancing before the ark of the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.¹⁷ land they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.¹⁸ And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.¹⁹ And he distributed among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to everyone a loaf of bread and a portion of meat and a fine white loaf of bread. So all the people departed everyone to his house.

²⁰ Then David returned to go to his house. And Malchel the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, for he appeared publicly before the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, for he surely conducted himself as a vain man!²¹ And David said to Malchel, It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father and rather than all his house, and appointed me to be a ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel; it was because of him that I danced before the LORD.²² And I will abase myself still more than this, and will humble myself in my own eyes; and the maidservants of whom you have spoken shall yet honor me.²³ Therefore Malchel the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.