13David talked with each of his officers. He wanted to get their advice. Some of them were commanders of thousands of men. Others were commanders of hundreds.

²David spoke to the whole community of Israel. He said, “Let’s send word to the rest of our people no matter how far away they live. They live in all of the territories of Israel. Let’s also send word to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and grasslands. Let’s invite everyone to come and join us. Let’s do it if it seems good to you and if that’s what the Lord our God wants. ³Let’s bring the ark of our God back here to us. We didn’t use it to ask God for advice during the whole time Saul was king.”

⁴So that’s what the whole community agreed to do. It seemed right to them.

⁵David gathered all of the people together. They came from the area between the Shihor River in Egypt and Lebo Hamath. They came to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. ⁶David went to Baalah of Judah. The whole community of Israel went with him. Baalah is also called Kiriath Jearim. All of the people went there to get the ark of God the Lord. He sits on his throne between the cherubim. The ark is named after the Lord.

⁷The ark of God was placed on a new cart. Then it was moved from Abinadab’s house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding it.

⁸David was celebrating with all his might in the sight of God. So was the whole community of Israel. All of them were singing songs. They were also playing harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.

⁹They came to the threshing floor of Kidon. The oxen nearly fell there. So Uzzah reached out his hand to hold the ark steady.

¹⁰Then the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah. He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So Uzzah died there in front of God.

¹¹David was angry because the Lord’s burning anger had broken out against Uzzah. That’s why the place is still called Perez Uzzah to this very day.

¹²David was afraid of God that day. He asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God back here to me?”

¹³So he didn’t take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom. Obed-Edom was from Gath. ¹⁴The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom. It stayed in his house for three months. And the Lord blessed his family. He also blessed everything that belonged to him.

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