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Peril in Moving the Ark

^1 (C1)Now David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.² And David ^(F1)departed from ^(F2)(C1)Baale-judah, with all the people who were with him, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the ^(C2)Name, the very name of the LORD of armies who ^(C3)is ^(F3)enthroned above the cherubim.³ They had mounted the ark of God on ^(C1)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 ^(C1)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 ^(C1)were celebrating before the LORD ^(C2)with all kinds of instruments made of juniper wood, and with ^(F1)lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

⁶ But when they came to the ^(C1)threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah ^(C2)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 ^(C1)God struck him down there for ^(F1)his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.⁸ Then David became angry because ^(F1)of the LORD'S outburst against Uzzah; and that place has been called ^(F2)Perez-uzzah to this day.⁹ So ^(C1)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 ^(C1)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 ^(C1)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." ^(C1)So David went and brought the ark of God up from the house of Obed-edom to ^(C2)the city of David with joy.¹³ And so it was, that ^(F1)when ^(C1)those carrying the ark of the LORD marched six paces, he sacrificed an ^(C2)ox and a fattened steer.¹⁴ And ^(C1)David was dancing before the LORD with all his strength, and David was ^(C2)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 ^(C1)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 ^(C1)in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and ^(C2)David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.¹⁸ When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, ^(C1)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 ^(C1)he exposed himself today in the sight of his servants' female slaves, as one of the ^(C2)rabble shamelessly exposes himself!"²¹ But David said to Michal, "^(C1)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 ^(F1)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.