2Sa 6 | HCSB | STEP | David again assembled all the choice men in Israel , 30, 000 .

2 Samuel 6

David Moves the Ark

1 David again assembled all the choice men in Israel, ^a 30,000. 2 He and all his troops set out ^b to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah. ^{▼▼= Kiriath-jearim in 1Sa 7:1; 1Ch 13:6; 2Ch 1:4} The ark is called by the Name, the name of ^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh of ^{▼▼Hosts/hosts: Military forces consisting of God's angels, sometimes including the sun, moon, and stars, and occasionally, Israel}Hosts who dwells between the ^{▼▼cherubim: A class of winged angels, associated with the throne of God, who function as guardians and who prevented Adam and Eve from returning to the garden of Eden}cherubim. ^g 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab’s house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, ^{▼▼Or and his brothers} sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart ⁱ 4 and brought it with the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on the hill. Ahio walked in front of the ark. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of fir wood instruments, ^{▼▼DSS, LXX read with tuned instruments with strength, with songs; 1Ch 13:8} lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums, ^{▼▼= an Egyptian percussion instrument} and cymbals. ^l

6 When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled. 7 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, ^m and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, ⁿ and he died there next to the ark of God. 8 David was angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place an Outburst Against Uzzah, ^{▼▼Or Perez-uzzah; 2Sa 5:20} as it is today. 9 David feared the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” 10 So he was not willing to move the ark of the Lord to the city of David; ^p instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the Lord remained in his house three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom ^q and his whole family.

12 It was reported to King David: “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom’s house to the city of David with rejoicing. ^r 13 When those carrying the ark of the Lord advanced six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf. ^s 14 David was dancing ^{▼▼Or whirling} with all his might before the Lord wearing a linen ^{▼▼ephod: A vestlike garment, extending below the waist and worn under the breastpiece, which was used by both the priests and the high priest}ephod. ^v 15 He and the whole house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of the ram’s horn. 16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the city of David, ^w Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.

17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent David had set up for it. ^x Then David offered ^{▼▼burnt offering(s): Or holocaust, an offering completely burned to ashes; it was used in connection with worship, seeking God's favor, expiating sin, or averting judgment.}burnt offerings and ^{▼▼fellowship sacrifice(s) or offering(s): An animal offering was given to maintain and strengthen a person's relationship with God. It was not required as a remedy for impurity or sin but was an expression of thanksgiving for various blessings. An important function of this sacrifice was to provide meat for the priests and the participants in the sacrifice; it was also called the peace offering or the sacrifice of well-being.}fellowship offerings in the Lord’s presence. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh of Hosts. 19 Then he distributed a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake to each one in the entire Israelite community, both men and women. ^aa Then all the people left, each to his own home.

20 When David returned home to bless his household, ^ab Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel honored himself today!” she said. “He exposed himself today in the sight of the slave girls of his subjects like a vulgar person would expose himself.”

21 David replied to Michal, “I was dancing ^{▼▼LXX; MT omits I was dancing} before the Lord who chose me over your father and his whole family to appoint me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel. ^ad I will celebrate before the Lord, 22 and I will humble myself even more and humiliate myself. ^{▼▼LXX reads more and I will be humble in your eyes
,} ^{▼▼Lit more and I will be humble in my own eyes} I will be honored by the slave girls you spoke about.” 23 And Saul’s daughter Michal had no child to the day of her death.