2 Samuel 6–7

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

6Again David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. ²And ^aDavid arose and went with all the people who were with him from ¹Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called ²by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, ^bwho dwells between the cherubim. ³So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on ^cthe hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new ³cart. ⁴And they brought it out of ^dthe house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. ⁵Then David and all the house of Israel ^eplayed music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

⁶And when they came to ^fNachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his ^ghand to the ark of God and ⁴took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. ⁷Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his ⁵error; and he died there by the ark of God. ⁸And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place ⁶Perez Uzzah to this day.

^9hDavid was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” ¹⁰So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the ⁱCity of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the ^jGittite. ^11kThe ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord ^lblessed Obed-Edom and all his household.

¹²Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” ^mSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. ¹³And so it was, when ⁿthose bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed ^ooxen and fatted sheep. ¹⁴Then David ^pdanced ⁷before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing ^qa linen ephod. ^15rSo David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

¹⁶Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, ^sMichal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷So ^tthey brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in ^uits place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David ^voffered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, ^whe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. ^19xThen he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone 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 today, ^zuncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the ^abase fellows ⁸shamelessly uncovers himself!”

²¹So David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, ^bwho chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the ^cpeople of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. ²²And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”

²³Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children ^dto the day of her death.

God’s Covenant with David

7Now it came to pass ^awhen the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, ²that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in ^ba house of cedar, ^cbut the ark of God dwells inside tent ^dcurtains.”

³Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your ^eheart, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁵“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^f“Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? ⁶For I have not dwelt in a house ^gsince the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in ^ha tent and in a tabernacle. ⁷Wherever I have ⁱmoved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded ^jto shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’ ⁸Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^k“I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. ⁹And ^lI have been with you wherever you have gone, ^mand have ¹cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. ¹⁰Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will ⁿplant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; ^onor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, ^11psince the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord ²tells you ^qthat He will make you a ³house.

^12r“When your days are fulfilled and you ^srest with your fathers, ^tI will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13uHe shall build a house for My name, and I will ^vestablish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14wI will be his Father, and he shall be ^xMy son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the ⁴blows of the sons of men. ¹⁵But My mercy shall not depart from him, ^yas I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶And ^zyour house and your kingdom shall be established forever before ⁵you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

¹⁷According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Thanksgiving to God

¹⁸Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: ^a“Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? ¹⁹And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. ^bIs this the manner of man, O Lord God? ²⁰Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord God, ^cknow Your servant. ²¹For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. ²²Therefore ^dYou are great, ⁶O Lord God. For ^ethere is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ^fears. ²³And who is like Your people, like Israel, ^gthe one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before ^hYour people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? ²⁴For ⁱYou have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; ^jand You, Lord, have become their God.

²⁵“Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. ²⁶So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. ²⁷For You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You.

²⁸“And now, O Lord God, You are God, and ^kYour words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. ²⁹Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed ^lforever.”