2 Samuel 6:1–11

Peril in Moving the Ark

^1aNow David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

²And David arose and went with all the people who were with him to ^1aBaale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the ^bName, the very name of the Lord of hosts who ^cis ²enthroned above the cherubim.

³They ¹placed the ark of God on ^aa new cart that they might bring it from the house of Abinadab which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart.

⁴So ^athey brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark.

⁵Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel ^awere celebrating before the Lord ^bwith all kinds of instruments made of ¹fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.

⁶But when they came to the ^athreshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah ^breached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it.

⁷And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and ^aGod struck him down there for ¹his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.

⁸David became angry because ¹of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called ²Perez-uzzah to this day.

⁹So ^aDavid was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”

¹⁰And David was unwilling to move the ark of the Lord into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of ^aObed-edom the Gittite.

¹¹Thus the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord ^ablessed Obed-edom and all his household.