1 Chronicles 15
15
The Ark of the Covenant Brought to Jerusalem
1David built houses for himself in Jerusalem. Then he built a place for the Ark of the Covenant of God. And he set up a tent for it. 2Then David said, “Only the Levites may carry the Ark of the Covenant of God. The Lord chose them to carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. He chose them to serve him forever.”
3David called all the people of Israel to come to Jerusalem. He wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to the place he had made for it. 4David called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites. 5There were 120 people from Kohath’s family group. Uriel was their leader. 6There were 220 people from Merari’s family group. Asaiah was their leader. 7There were 130 people from Gershon’s family group. Joel was their leader. 8There were 200 people from Elizaphan’s family group. Shemaiah was their leader. 9There were 80 people from Hebron’s family group. Eliel was their leader. 10There were 112 people from Uzziel’s family group. Amminadab was their leader.
11Then David asked the priests Zadok and Abiathar to come to him. He also asked these Levites to come: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab. 12David said to them, “You are the leaders of the families of Levi. You and the other Levites must give yourselves for service to the Lord. Then bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the God of Israel. Bring it to the place I have made for it. 13The last time we did not ask the Lord how to carry it. You Levites didn’t carry it. So the Lord our God punished us.”
14Then the priests and Levites prepared themselves for service to the Lord. They did this so they could carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15The Levites used special poles to carry the Ark of the Covenant of God on their shoulders. This was the way Moses had commanded. They carried it just as the Lord had said they should.
16David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers. The singers were to play their lyres, harps and cymbals. And they were to sing happy songs.
17So the Levites appointed Heman and his relatives Asaph and Ethan. Heman was Joel’s son. Asaph was Berekiah’s son. And Ethan, from the Merari family group, was Kushaiah’s son. 18There was also a second group of Levites. They were Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were the Levite guards.
19The singers Heman, Asaph and Ethan played bronze cymbals. 20Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah played the high-pitched lyres. 21Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah played the low-pitched harps. 22The Levite leader Kenaniah was in charge of the singing. He had this job because he was very good at singing.
23Berekiah and Elkanah were two of the guards for the Ark of the Covenant. 24The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer had the job of blowing trumpets. They did this in front of the Ark of the Covenant. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were also guards for the Ark of the Covenant.
25David, the leaders of Israel, and the commanders went to get the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. Each of the commanders was over a group of 1,000 soldiers. They all went to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Obed-Edom’s house. And they were very happy. 26God helped the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. So they sacrificed seven bulls and seven male sheep. 27All the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant wore robes of fine linen. Kenaniah, the man in charge of the singing, and all the singers wore robes of fine linen. David wore a robe of fine linen. And he also wore a holy vest of fine linen. 28So all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. They shouted and blew sheep horns and trumpets. They played cymbals, lyres, and harps.
29So the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord entered Jerusalem. As it entered, Saul’s daughter Michal watched from a window. When she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she hated him.
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1 Chronicles 15
15
David Gets Ready To Bring the Sacred Chest to Jerusalem
1David had several buildings built in Jerusalem, and he had a tent set up where the sacred chest would be kept. 2#Dt 10.8. He said, “Only Levites will be allowed to carry the chest, because the Lord has chosen them to do that work and to serve him forever.”
3Next, David invited everyone to come to Jerusalem and watch the sacred chest being carried to the place he had set up for it. 4He also sent for Aaron's descendants and for the Levites. The Levites that came were: 5Uriel, the leader of the Kohath clan, and 120 of his relatives; 6Asaiah, the leader of the Merari clan, and 220 of his relatives; 7Joel, the leader of the Gershon clan, and 130 of his relatives; 8Shemaiah, the leader of the Elizaphan clan, and 200 of his relatives; 9Eliel, the leader of the Hebron clan, and 80 of his relatives; and 10Amminadab, the leader of the Uzziel clan, with 112 of his relatives.
11David called together these six Levites and the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar. 12He said to them, “You are the leaders of the clans in the Levi tribe. You and your relatives must first go through the ceremony to make yourselves clean and acceptable to the Lord. Then you may carry the sacred chest that belongs to the Lord God of Israel and bring it to the place I have prepared for it. 13The first time we tried to bring the chest to Jerusalem, we didn't ask the Lord what he wanted us to do. He was angry with us, because you Levites weren't there to carry the chest.”
14The priests and the Levites made themselves clean. They were now ready to carry the sacred chest 15#Ex 25.14. on poles that rested on their shoulders, just as the Lord had told Moses to do.
16David then told the leaders to choose some Levites to sing and play music on small harps, other stringed instruments, and cymbals. 17-21The men chosen to play the cymbals were Heman the son of Joel, his relative Asaph the son of Berechiah, and Ethan the son of Kushaiah from the Merari clan. Some of their assistants played the smaller harps: they were Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah. Others played the larger harps: they were Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Azaziah, and two of the temple guards, Obed-Edom and Jeiel.
22Chenaniah was chosen to be the music director, because he was a skilled musician.
23-24Four Levites were then appointed to guard the sacred chest. They were Berechiah, Elkanah, Obed-Edom, and Jehiah.
Finally, David chose priests to walk in front of the sacred chest and blow trumpets. They were Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer.
The Sacred Chest Is Brought to Jerusalem
(2 Samuel 6.12-22)
25David, the leaders of Israel, and the army commanders were very happy as they went to Obed-Edom's house to get the sacred chest. 26God gave the Levites the strength they needed to carry the chest, and so they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
27David, the Levites, Chenaniah the music director, and all the musicians were wearing linen robes, and David was also wearing a linen cloth.#15.27 a linen cloth: The Hebrew word is “ephod,” which can mean either a piece of clothing like a skirt that went from the waist to the knee or a garment like a vest or jacket that only the priests wore. 28While the sacred chest was being carried into Jerusalem, everyone was celebrating by shouting and playing music on horns, trumpets, cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments.
29Saul's daughter Michal#15.29 Michal: One of David's wives. looked out her window and watched the chest being brought into David's City. But when she saw David jumping and dancing in honor of the Lord, she was disgusted.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.