1 When the men of Kiriath-Jearim received that message, they came to Beth-Shemesh and took the sacred chest of Yahweh. They took it to the house of Abinadab, which was on a hillside. They appointed Abinadab’s son Eleazar to take care of the chest.

2 The sacred chest stayed in Kiriath-Jearim for a long time—a total of 20 years. During that time all the people of Israel mourned because it seemed that Yahweh had abandoned them (OR, and then they asked Yahweh to help them).