David Has the Ark Brought to Obed Edom’s House^(A)

13 David consulted with every officer who commanded a regiment or battalion. ² Then he told the whole assembly of Israel, “If you approve and if the Lord our God has consented, we will send ⌞an invitation⌟ to the rest of our relatives in every region of Israel and to the priests and Levites in their cities and pasturelands so that they may join us. ³ Then we’ll bring back our God’s ark, which we ignored while Saul was king.”

⁴ The whole assembly agreed to this because the people considered it the right thing to do. ⁵ So David gathered all Israel from the Shihor River near Egypt to the border of Hamath in order to bring God’s ark from Kiriath Jearim.

⁶ David and all Israel went to Baalah in Kiriath Jearim, which is in Judah, to bring God’s ark ⌞to Jerusalem⌟. (The Lord is enthroned over the angels ^[a] ⌞on the ark⌟ where his name is used.) ⁷ David and his men put God’s ark on a new cart from Abinadab’s home. Uzzah and Ahio guided the cart. ⁸ David and all Israel were celebrating in God’s presence with all their might, with songs, with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ But when they came to Chidon’s threshing floor,^[b] the oxen stumbled. So Uzzah reached out to grab the ark. ¹⁰ The Lord became angry with Uzzah and killed him for reaching for the ark. He died in God’s presence.

¹¹ David was angry because the Lord had struck Uzzah so violently. (That place is still called Perez Uzzah [The Striking of Uzzah] today.) ¹² David was afraid of God that day. “How can I bring God’s ark to my ⌞city⌟?” he asked. ¹³ So he didn’t bring God’s ark to his ⌞home⌟, the City of David. Instead, he rerouted it to the home of Obed Edom, who was from Gath. ¹⁴ God’s ark stayed at the home of Obed Edom with his family for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom’s family and everything he owned.