1 Chronicles 15
15
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem
1David#15.1 Heb He built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 2Then David commanded that no one but the Levites were to carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. 3David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. 4Then David gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites: 5of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with one hundred twenty of his kindred; 6of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with two hundred twenty of his kindred; 7of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with one hundred thirty of his kindred; 8of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with two hundred of his kindred; 9of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with eighty of his kindred; 10of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with one hundred twelve of his kindred.
11David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12He said to them, “You are the heads of families of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your kindred, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. 13Because you did not carry it the first time,#15.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain the Lord our God burst out against us, because we did not give it proper care.” 14So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.
16David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their kindred as the singers to play on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise loud sounds of joy. 17So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; and of his kindred Asaph son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their kindred, Ethan son of Kushaiah; 18and with them their kindred of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound bronze cymbals; 20Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth; 21but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to the Sheminith. 22Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music, for he understood it. 23Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah also were to be gatekeepers for the ark.
25So David and the elders of Israel, and the commanders of the thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing. 26And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers; and David wore a linen ephod. 28So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres.
29As the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing; and she despised him in her heart.
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1 Chronicles 15: NRSV
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.