2 Samuel 6:5–13

Uzzah and the Ark

⁵And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with ^zsongs³ and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. ⁶And when they came to the threshing floor of ^aNacon, Uzzah ^bput out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and ^cGod struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. ⁸And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah⁴ to this day. ⁹And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside ^dto the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, ^eand the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

¹²And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^fSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom ^gto the city of David with rejoicing. ¹³And when ^hthose who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, ⁱhe sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.