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.

2 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."
3 David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the ark of the Lord to the place he had prepared for it.

4 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, 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 and Abiathar 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 so that you may bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel to [the place] I have prepared for it. 13 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." 14 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.
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. 17 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, 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 ; 21 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 before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also to be gatekeepers for the ark.
25 David, 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.

26 While the Levites were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, with God's help, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
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 dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.

1 Chronicles 15

David gets ready to bring the sacred chest to Jerusalem

1 David had several buildings built in Jerusalem, and he had a tent set up where the sacred chest would be kept.

2 He said, “Only Levites will be allowed to carry the chest, because the Lord has chosen them to do that work and to serve him for ever.”t
3 Next, David invited everyone to come to Jerusalem and watch the sacred chest being carried to the place he had set up for it. 4 He also sent for Aaron's descendants and for the Levites. The Levites who came were: 5 Uriel, the leader of the Kohath clan, and one hundred and twenty of his relatives; 6 Asaiah, the leader of the Merari clan, and two hundred and twenty of his relatives; 7 Joel, the leader of the Gershon clan, and one hundred and thirty of his relatives; 8 Shemaiah, the leader of the Elizaphan clan, and two hundred of his relatives; 9 Eliel, the leader of the Hebron clan, and eighty of his relatives; and

10 Amminadab, the leader of the Uzziel clan, with one hundred and twelve of his relatives.
11 David called together these six Levites and the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar. 12 He said to them, “You are the leaders of the clans in the Levi tribe. You and your relatives must first go through the ceremony to make yourselves clean and acceptable to the Lord. Then you may carry the sacred chest that belongs to the Lord God of Israel and bring it to the place I have prepared for it.

13 The first time we tried to bring the chest to Jerusalem, we didn't ask the Lord what he wanted us to do. He was angry with us, because you Levites weren't there to carry the chest.”
14 The priests and the Levites made themselves clean. They were now ready to carry the sacred chest

15 on poles that rested on their shoulders, just as the Lord had told Moses to do.t
16 David then told the leaders to choose some Levites to sing and play music on small harps, other stringed instruments, and cymbals.

17-21 The men chosen to play the cymbals were Heman the son of Joel, his relative Asaph the son of Berechiah, and Ethan the son of Kushaiah from the Merari clan. Some of their assistants played the smaller harps: they were Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah. Others played the larger harps: they were Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Azaziah, and two of the temple guards, Obed-Edom and Jeiel.

22 Chenaniah was chosen to be the music director, because he was a skilled musician.

23-24 Four Levites were then appointed to guard the sacred chest. They were Berechiah, Elkanah, Obed-Edom, and Jehiah.
Finally, David chose priests to walk in front of the sacred chest and blow trumpets. They were Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer.

The sacred chest is brought to Jerusalem

(2 Samuel 6.12-22)

26 God gave the Levites the strength they needed to carry the chest, and so they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
27 David, the Levites, Chenaniah the music director, and all the musicians were wearing linen robes, and David was also wearing a linen cloth.t

28 While the sacred chest was being carried into Jerusalem, everyone was celebrating by shouting and playing music on horns, trumpets, cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments.
29 Saul's daughter Michalt looked out of her window and watched the chest being brought into David's City. But when she saw David jumping and dancing in honour of the Lord, she was disgusted.