Preparations to Move the Ark to Jerusalem

1 David constructed buildings in the City of David, and he prepared a place for the Ark of the Lord and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said, “No one except the Levites may carry the Ark of the Lord, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the Ark of the Lord and to minister before him forever.”

3 David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. 4 David gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

5 From the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and 120 relatives;
6 From the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and 220 relatives;
7 From the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and 130 relatives;
8 From the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and 200 relatives;
9 From the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and 80 relatives;
10 From the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and 112 relatives.

11 David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the the Levite families. Sanctify yourselves, both you and your relatives, that you may bring the Ark of the Lord the God of Israel, up to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 For because you did not carry it at first, the Lord our God broke out in anger against us, because we did not seek him according to the ordinance.”

14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.

The Priests and Levites Carry the Ark

15 The Levites bore the Ark of the Lord on their shoulders with its poles, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord.

16 David spoke to the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers with instruments of music: stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals, playing aloud and lifting up their voices with joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and from his brothers, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari, their brothers, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brothers from the second rank, Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers.

19 So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were given cymbals of bronze to play aloud; 20 and Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with stringed instruments set to Alamoth; 21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps tuned to the eight-stringed lyre, to lead. 22 Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over the singing. He taught the singers because he was skillful.

23 Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the Ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, blew the trumpets before the Ark of the Lord; and Obed-Edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the Ark.

Moving the Ark to Jerusalem

25 So David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went with joy to bring the Ark of the Lord’s covenant up out of the house of Obed-Edom. 26 When the Lord helped the Levites who bore the Ark of the Lord’s covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the Ark: the singers and Chenaniah the choir master with the singers, and David wore an ephod of linen.

28 Thus all Israel brought the Ark of the Lord’s covenant up with shouting, with the sound of the cornet, with trumpets, and with cymbals, playing aloud with stringed instruments and harps.

29 As the Ark of Lord’s covenant came to the City of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out the window and saw king David dancing and playing, and she despised him in her heart.

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