1 Chronicles 15

The Ark Comes to Jerusalem

1 David 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.  * 15:1 1Ch 16:1; 17:1–52 Then David said, "No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever."  * 15:2 Nm 4:15; Dt 10:8

3 David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem  * 15:3 1Ch 13:5 to bring the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it.  * 15:3 2Sm 6:12,17; 1Ch 15:124 Then he gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

5 From the Kohathites, Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives; 6 from the Merarites, Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives; 7 from the Gershomites,  * 15:7 = Gershonites Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives; 8 from the Elizaphanites, Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives; 9 from the Hebronites, Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives; 10 from the Uzzielites, Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.

11 David summoned the priests Zadok  * 15:11 1Ch 12:28; 18:16; 24:3,6,31; 27:17; 29:22 and Abiathar  * 15:11 1Sm 22:20–23; 1Kg 1:7; 2:26–27,35; 1Ch 27:34 and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, "You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves  * 15:12 Ex 19:14; 2Ch 35:6 so that you may bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.  * 15:12 1Ch 15:1,313 For the Lord our God burst out in anger against us because you Levites were not with us the first time, for we didn’t inquire of him about the proper procedures."  * 15:13 2Sm 6:3; 1Ch 13:714 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. 15 Then the Levites carried the ark of God the way Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord: on their shoulders with the poles.  * 15:15 Ex 25:12–15; Nm 4:6,15

16 Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments — harps, lyres, and cymbals.  * 15:16 1Ch 13:8; 25:117 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph son of Berechiah; and from their relatives the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah. 18 With them were their relatives second in rank: Zechariah, Jaaziel,  * 15:18 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read Zechariah son and Jaaziel Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19 The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth* 15:20 This may refer to a high pitch, perhaps a tune sung by soprano voices; the Hb word means "young women" ; Ps 46 title21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music with lyres according to the Sheminith. 22 Chenaniah, the leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music because he was skillful. 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24 The priests, Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, were to blow trumpets  * 15:24 1Ch 16:6 before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also to be gatekeepers for the ark.

25 David,  * 15:25–29 2Sm 6:12–16 the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went with rejoicing to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom.  * 15:25 1Ch 13:1326 Because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with God’s help, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.  * 15:26 Nm 23:1–4,29

27 Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the music leader of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts, the sound of the ram’s horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and the playing of harps and lyres. 29 As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping  * 15:29 Or whirling and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.