² And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from ^(A)Baale-judah ^(B)to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts ^(C)who sits enthroned on the cherubim. ³ And they carried the ark of God ^(D)on a new cart and brought it ^(E)out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio,^[a] the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,^{[b] 4} with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.

Uzzah and the Ark

⁵ And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord, with ^(F)songs^[c] and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. ⁶ And when they came to the threshing floor of ^(G)Nacon, Uzzah ^(H)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 ^(I)God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. ⁸ And David was angry because the Lord had burst forth against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah,^[d] to this day. ⁹ And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰ So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside ^(J)to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹ And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, ^(K)and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

¹² And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^(L)So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom ^(M)to the city of David with rejoicing. ¹³ And when ^(N)those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, ^(O)he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. ¹⁴ And David ^(P)danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was ^(Q)wearing 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 horn.

David and Michal

¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷ And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it ^(R)in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. ^(S)And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

^25 (A)So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of ^(B)Obed-edom with rejoicing. ²⁶ And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed ^(C)seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷ David 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. ²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, ^(D)trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on ^(E)harps and lyres.

²⁹ And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and rejoicing, and she despised him in her heart.

The Ark Placed in a Tent

16 And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside ^(F)the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.