2 Samuel 6–7

The Ark Is Brought to Jerusalem

6David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel—thirty thousand of them. ²Then he and all his people went to Baalah in Judah ⁿ to bring back the Ark of God. The Ark is called by the Name, the name of the Lord All-Powerful, whose throne is between the gold creatures with wings. ³They put the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of Abinadab’s house on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, led the new cart ⁴which had the Ark of God on it. Ahio was walking in front of it. ⁵David and all the Israelites were celebrating in the presence of the Lord. They were playing wooden instruments: lyres, harps, tambourines, rattles, and cymbals.

⁶When David’s men came to the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled. So Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark of God. ⁷The Lord was angry with Uzzah and killed him because of what he did. So Uzzah died there beside the Ark of God. ⁸David was angry because the Lord had killed Uzzah. Now that place is called the Punishment of Uzzah.

⁹David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me now?” ¹⁰So David would not move the Ark of the Lord to be with him in Jerusalem. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom, a man from Gath. ¹¹The Ark of the Lord stayed in Obed-Edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his family.

¹²The people told David, “The Lord has blessed the family of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because the Ark of God is there.” So David went and brought it up from Obed-Edom’s house to Jerusalem with joy. ¹³When the men carrying the Ark of the Lord had walked six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fat calf. ¹⁴Then David danced with all his might before the Lord. He had on a holy linen vest. ¹⁵David and all the Israelites shouted with joy and blew the trumpets as they brought the Ark of the Lord to the city.

¹⁶As the Ark of the Lord came into the city, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw David jumping and dancing in the presence of the Lord, she hated him.

¹⁷David put up a tent for the Ark of the Lord, and then the Israelites put it in its place inside the tent. David offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸When David finished offering the whole burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord All-Powerful. ¹⁹David gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins to every Israelite, both men and women. Then all the people went home.

²⁰David went back to bless the people in his home, but Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. She said, “With what honor the king of Israel acted today! You took off your clothes in front of the servant girls of your officers like one who takes off his clothes without shame!”

²¹Then David said to Michal, “I did it in the presence of the Lord. The Lord chose me, not your father or anyone from Saul’s family. The Lord appointed me to be over Israel. So I will celebrate in the presence of the Lord. ²²Maybe I will lose even more honor, and maybe I will be brought down in my own opinion, but the girls you talk about will honor me!”

²³And Saul’s daughter Michal had no children to the day she died.

David Wants to Build a Temple

7King David was living in his palace, and the Lord had given him peace from all his enemies around him. ²Then David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace made of cedar wood, but the Ark of God is in a tent!”

³Nathan said to the king, “Go and do what you really want to do, because the Lord is with you.”

⁴But that night the Lord spoke his word to Nathan, ⁵“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Will you build a house for me to live in? ⁶From the time I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until now I have not lived in a house. I have been moving around all this time with a tent as my home. ⁷As I have moved with the Israelites, I have never said to the tribes, whom I commanded to take care of my people Israel, “Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?” ’

⁸“You must tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: I took you from the pasture and from tending the sheep and made you leader of my people Israel. ⁹I have been with you everywhere you have gone and have defeated your enemies for you. I will make you as famous as any of the great people on the earth. ¹⁰Also I will choose a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them so they can live in their own homes. They will not be bothered anymore. Wicked people will no longer bother them as they have in the past ¹¹when I chose judges for my people Israel. But I will give you peace from all your enemies. I also tell you that I will make your descendants kings of Israel after you.

¹²“ ‘When you die and join your ancestors, I will make one of your sons the next king, and I will set up his kingdom. ¹³He will build a house for me, and I will let his kingdom rule always. ¹⁴I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he sins, I will use other people to punish him. They will be my whips. ¹⁵I took away my love from Saul, whom I removed before you, but I will never stop loving your son. ¹⁶But your family and your kingdom will continue always before me. Your throne will last forever.’ ”

¹⁷Nathan told David everything God had said in this vision.

David Prays to God

¹⁸Then King David went in and sat in front of the Lord. David said, “Lord God, who am I? What is my family? Why did you bring me to this point? ¹⁹But even this is not enough for you, Lord God. You have also made promises about my future family. This is extraordinary, Lord God.

²⁰“What more can I say to you, Lord God, since you know me, your servant, so well! ²¹You have done this great thing because you said you would and because you wanted to, and you have let me know about it. ²²This is why you are great, Lord God! There is no one like you. There is no God except you. We have heard all this ourselves! ²³There is no nation like your people Israel. They are the only people on earth that God chose to be his own. You made your name well known. You did great and wonderful miracles for them. You went ahead of them and forced other nations and their gods out of the land. You freed your people from slavery in Egypt. ²⁴You made the people of Israel your very own people forever, and, Lord, you are their God.

²⁵“Now, Lord God, keep the promise forever that you made about my family and me, your servant. Do what you have said. ²⁶Then you will be honored always, and people will say, ‘The Lord All-Powerful is God over Israel!’ And the family of your servant David will continue before you.

²⁷“Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, you have said to me, ‘I will make your family great.’ So I, your servant, am brave enough to pray to you. ²⁸Lord God, you are God, and your words are true. And you have promised these good things to me, your servant. ²⁹Please, bless my family. Let it continue before you always. Lord God, you have said so. With your blessing let my family always be blessed.”