2 Samuel 6

New King James Version

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem^(A)

6 Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. ² And ^(B)David arose and went with all the people who were with him from ^[a]Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called ^[b]by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, ^(C)who dwells between the cherubim. ³ So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on ^(D)the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new ^[c]cart. ⁴ And they brought it out of ^(E)the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. ⁵ Then David and all the house of Israel ^(F)played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

⁶ And when they came to ^(G)Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his ^(H)hand to the ark of God and ^[d]took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷ Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his ^[e]error; and he died there by the ark of God. ⁸ And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place ^[f]Perez Uzzah to this day.

^9 (I)David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰ So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the ^(J)City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the ^(K)Gittite. ^11 (L)The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord ^(M)blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

¹² Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^(N)So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. ¹³ And so it was, when ^(O)those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed ^(P)oxen and fatted sheep. ¹⁴ Then David ^(Q)danced^[g] before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing ^(R)a linen ephod. ^15 (S)So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶ Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, ^(T)Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷ So ^(U)they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in ^(V)its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David ^(W)offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, ^(X)he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ^19 (Y)Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house.

^20 (Z)Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, ^(AA)uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the ^(AB)base fellows ^[h]shamelessly uncovers himself!”

²¹ So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, ^(AC)who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the ^(AD)people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. ²² And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

²³ Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children ^(AE)to the day of her death.