1Ch 15:2, 12-14 | ESV | STEP | Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God , for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever .

1 Chronicles 15:2

2 Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry ^athe ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.

1 Chronicles 15:12-14

12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. ^bConsecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, ^cto the place that I have prepared for it. 13 ^dBecause you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.