2 Samuel 6–7

6Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. ²And ^aDavid arose, and went with all the people that were with him from ^||Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, ^||whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts ^bthat dwelleth between the cherubims. ³And they ^†set the ark of God ^cupon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in ^||Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. ⁴And they brought it out of ^dthe house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, ^†accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. ⁵And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, ^eeven on harps, and on psalteries, and ^fon timbrels, and on cornets, and ^gon cymbals. ⁶And when they came to ^†Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah ^hput forth ⁱhis hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen ^||shook it. ⁷And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and ^jGod smote him there for his ^||error; and there he died by the ark of God. ⁸And David was displeased, because the Lord had ^†made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place ^||Perez-uzzah to this day. ⁹And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, ^kHow shall the ark of the Lord come to me? ¹⁰So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom ^lthe Gittite. ¹¹And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and ^mthe Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his household.

^12*And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. ⁿSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. ¹³And it was so, that when ^othey that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed ^poxen and fatlings. ¹⁴And David ^qdanced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded ^rwith a linen ephod. ¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. ¹⁶And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter ^slooked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷And ^tthey brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in ^uhis place, in the midst of the ^vtabernacle that David had ^†pitched for it: and David ^woffered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, ^xhe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ¹⁹And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. ^ySo all the people departed every one to his house. ^20yThen David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who ^zuncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the ^avain fellows ^||shamelessly uncovereth himself! ²¹And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, ^bwhich chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore ^cwill I play before the Lord. ²²And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and ^||of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. ²³Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

7And it came to pass, ^awhen the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; ²That the king said unto ^bNathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in ^can house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within ^dcurtains. ³And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is ^ein thine heart; for the Lord is with thee. ⁴And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, ⁵Go and tell ^†my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, ^fShalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? ⁶Whereas I have not dwelt in any house ^gsince the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in ^ha tent and in a tabernacle. ⁷In all the places wherein I have ⁱwalked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with ^||any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded ^kto feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar? ⁸Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, ^lI took thee from ^mthe sheepcote, ^†from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: ⁹And ⁿI was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies ^†out of thy sight, and have made thee ^oa great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. ¹⁰Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will ^pplant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and ^qmove no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, ¹¹And as ^rsince the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have ^scaused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee ^tthat he will make thee an house. ¹²And ^uwhen thy days be fulfilled, and thou ^xshalt sleep with thy fathers, ^yI will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13zHe shall build an house for my name, and I will ^astablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. ^14bI will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he ^ccommit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: ¹⁵But my mercy shall not depart away from him, ^das I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. ¹⁶And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: ^ethy throne shall be established for ever. ¹⁷According to all these words, and according to all this ^fvision, so did Nathan speak unto David.

¹⁸Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, ^gWho am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? ¹⁹And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. ^hAnd is this the ^†manner of man, O Lord God? ²⁰And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God, ⁱknowest thy servant. ²¹For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. ²²Wherefore ^jthou art great, O Lord God: for ^kthere is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²³And ^lwhat one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you ^mgreat things and terrible, for thy land, before ⁿthy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? ²⁴For thou hast ^oconfirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, Lord, art become their God. ²⁵And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, ^pestablish it for ever, and do as thou hast said. ²⁶And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. ²⁷For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast ^†revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. ²⁸And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and ^qthy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: ²⁹Therefore now ^†let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed ^rfor ever.