1 Chronicles - The Old Testament

¹ David conferred with the commanders of the thousands and the hundreds, in fact with all the leaders.

² Then, to the whole assembly of Israel, David said, 'If this has your approval, and if Yahweh our God wills it so, we shall send messengers to the rest of our brothers throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites in their towns and pasture lands, bidding them join us.

³ And then we will go and recover the ark of our God, for in the days of Saul we neglected to do it.'

⁴ The whole assembly agreed to this, because all the people thought that this was the right thing to do.

⁵ So David summoned all Israel from the Shihor of Egypt to the Pass of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-Jearim.

⁶ David and all Israel then went up to Baalah, to Kiriath-Jearim in Judah, from there to bring up the ark of God, which bears the title 'Yahweh enthroned on the winged creatures'.

⁷ They transported the ark of God out of Abinadab's house on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart.

⁸ David and all Israel danced before God with all their might, singing to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.

⁹ When they came to the threshing-floor of the Javelin, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, as the oxen were making it tilt.

¹⁰ This roused Yahweh's anger against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had laid his hand on the Ark, and there he died before God.

¹¹ David resented Yahweh's having broken out against Uzzah, and the place was given the name Perez-Uzzah, which it still has today.

¹² That day David felt afraid of God. 'How can I bring the ark of God to be with me?' he said.

¹³ So David did not take the ark with him into the City of David but had it put in the house of Obed-Edom of Gath.

¹⁴ The ark of God remained with Obed-Edom, in his house, for three months, and Yahweh blessed Obed-Edom's family and everything that belonged to him.