1 Crónicas 15

Preparing to bring the ark to Jerusalem

¹David built houses for himself in the city of David. He also prepared a place for the ark of God, and he pitched a tent for it. ²Then David said, “No one may carry the ark of God except the Levites, for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to serve him forever.”

³David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the ark of the LORD up to the place he had prepared for it. ⁴David gathered the sons of Aaron and the Levites. ⁵From the descendants of Kohath: Uriel the chief, and 120 of his relatives.

⁶From the descendants of Merari: Asaiah the chief, and 220 of his relatives.

⁷From the descendants of Gershom: Joel the chief, and 130 of his relatives.

⁸From the descendants of Elizaphan: Shemaiah the chief, and 200 of his relatives.

⁹From the descendants of Hebron: Eliel the chief, and eighty of his relatives.

¹⁰From the descendants of Uzziel: Amminadab the chief, and 112 of his relatives.

¹¹Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab. ¹²He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. Consecrate yourselves, you and your relatives, and bring the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, up to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³It was because you did not carry it the first time that the LORD our God burst out against us, since we did not seek him as the rule required.”^{a 14}So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁵The Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded by the word of the LORD.

The Levite singers and musicians

¹⁶David also told the chiefs of the Levites to appoint some of their relatives as singers, with musical instruments, harps, lyres and cymbals, to play loudly and raise sounds of joy.

¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his relatives, Asaph son of Berechiah; and from their relatives the descendants of Merari, Ethan son of Kushaiah. ¹⁸With them were their relatives of the second rank: Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-Edom and Jeiel.^{b 19}The singers Heman, Asaph and Ethan were to play bronze cymbals loudly. ²⁰Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play harps, on alamoth.^{c 21}Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel and Azaziah were to lead with lyres, on the sheminith.^{d 22}Chenaniah, the chief of the Levites in charge of the music, directed the music, because he was skilled at it.^{e 23}Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the ark. ²⁴Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer, who were priests, were to sound the trumpets in front of the ark of God. Obed-Edom and Jehiah were gatekeepers for the ark as well. ²⁵So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up from the house of Obed-Edom with rejoicing.

The ark comes to Jerusalem

²⁶When God helped the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they offered seven bulls and seven rams in sacrifice. ²⁷David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, and so were all the Levites carrying the ark, the singers and Chenaniah, who led the music of the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸So all Israel brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD up with loud shouts of joy and the sound of the ram’s horn, with trumpets and cymbals, and with the loud music of harps and lyres. ²⁹As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was coming into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked down from the window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating, and in her heart she despised him.