1 Chronicles

Final Transfer

David put up buildings for himself in the city of David and prepared a place for the Ark of God, and he put up a tent for it.

Then he said: “Only the Levites shall move the Ark of God since the Lord has chosen them to carry the Ark and to serve him always.”

Then David gathered all Israel in Jerusalem to bring the Ark of God to where he had prepared for it.

David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi:

of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief and his hundred and twenty relatives;

of the sons of Merari, Asaiah and his two hundred and twenty relatives;

of the sons of Gershom, Joel and his hundred and thirty relatives;

of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah and his two hundred relatives;

of the sons of Hebron, Eliel and eighty relatives;

of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab and his hundred and twelve relatives.

David called in the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

He told them: “You are the heads of families of the Levites. Purify yourselves, you and your brothers, and bring the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, up to the place I have prepared for it.

The first time, you were not there to carry it, and the Lord our God punished us for not consulting him as we should have done.”

So the priests and the Levites purified themselves to bring up the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel,

and the Levites carried the Ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered according to the command of the Lord.

David then told the leaders of the Levites to assign duties to some Levites, such as singing and playing a joyful tune with their various musical instruments: harps, lyres, and cymbals.

The Levites then appointed Heman son of Joel, Asaph son of Berechiah, one of his brothers, Ethan son of Kushaiah, one of their Merarite relatives;

and with them, next in rank, their relatives as keepers of the gate: Zechariah son of Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel.

Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, the singers, were to clash the cymbals of bronze;

Zechariah, Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play the keyed harp.

Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, giving the beat, were to play the octave lyre.

Chenaniah was chosen to be in charge of the transportation because he was very skillful at doing these things.

Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers to the ark.

The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were to sound the trumpet before the Ark of God. Obed-edom and Jeiel were to be gatekeepers to the ark.

So David, with the leaders of Israel and the commanders of thousands, went to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Obed-edom’s house with great rejoicing.

While God was securing the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven sheep.

David was wearing a robe of fine linen, like all the Levites who carried the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the officer in charge of its transportation. David also wore linen.

Thus, all Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with shouts of joy to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, making music with harp and lyre.

Now, as the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord entered the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, was watching from the window and saw King David dancing and leaping with joy, and she despised him.