1 Chronicles 15

1 And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.2 Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.s3 And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord unto his place, which he had prepared for it.4 And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:5 Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty:s6 Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:7 Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and thirty:8 Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred:9 Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore:10 Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.11 And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,12 And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.13 For because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.15 And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord.16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;18 And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed–edom, and Jeiel, the porters.19 So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass;20 And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth;21 And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed–edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel.s22 And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.ss23 And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.24 And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obed–edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

25 So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obed–edom with joy.26 And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.27 And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.s28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

29 And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.

1 Chronicles 15

David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem—2 Samuel 6:12–19a

1 After David constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for God’s ark and set up a tent for it.

2 Then David insisted that only the Levites carry God’s ark because the Lord had chosen them to carry his ark and to serve him forever.
3 David called together all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the Lord’s ark to the place he had prepared for it.4 David also called together Aaron’s descendants and the Levites.5 Leading Kohath’s descendants was Uriel, who came with 120 of his relatives.6 Leading Merari’s descendants was Asaiah, who came with 220 of his relatives.7 Leading Gershom’s descendants was Joel, who came with 130 of his relatives.8 Leading Elizaphan’s descendants was Shemaiah, who came with 200 of his relatives.9 Leading Hebron’s descendants was Eliel, who came with 80 of his relatives.

10 Leading Uzziel’s descendants was Amminadab, who came with 112 of his relatives.
11 David called for the priests Zadok and Abiathar and for 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 perform the ceremonies to make yourselves holy. Then bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I prepared for it.

13 Because you weren’t there the first time, the Lord our God struck us. We hadn’t dedicated our lives to serving him in the way he designated.”
14 So the priests and the Levites made themselves holy in order to move the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

15 The Levites carried God’s ark on their shoulders. They used poles as Moses had commanded according to the Lord’s instructions.
16 David told the Levite leaders to appoint some of their relatives to serve as musicians. They were expected to play music on harps, lyres, and cymbals to produce joyful music for singing.17 So the Levites appointed Heman, son of Joel, and from his relatives they appointed Asaph, Berechiah’s son. From their own relatives, Merari’s descendants, they appointed Ethan, son of Kushaiah.18 In addition, they appointed their relatives from the second division: Zechariah,t Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah. Obed Edom and Jeiel were appointed gatekeepers.19 The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were appointed to play bronze cymbals.20 Zechariah, Jaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were appointed to play harps according to alamoth .t21 Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were appointed to play lyres and to conduct the sheminith .t22 Chenaniah, a Levite leader, instructed others how to sing prophetic songs because he was skilled at it.23 Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the ark.

24 The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer blew trumpets in front of God’s ark. Obed Edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.
25 So David, the leaders of Israel, and the army’s commanders joyfully went to get the ark of the Lord’s promise from Obed Edom’s house.26 Because God helped the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s promise, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

27 David was dressed in a fine linen robe, as were all the Levites who carried the ark, the Levites who were singers, and Chenaniah, the leader of the musicians’ prophetic songs. David also wore a linen ephod.t
28 All Israel brought the ark of the Lord’s promise with shouts of joy and the sounding of rams’ horns, trumpets, cymbals, harps, and lyres.

29 When the ark of the Lord’s promise came to the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out of a window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, so she despised him.