2 Samuel 6:1–11

Moving the Ark to Jerusalem

Then David again gathered all the elite troops in Israel, 30,000 in all. ²He led them to Baalah of Judah to bring back the Ark of God, which bears the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. ³They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio, Abinadab’s sons, were guiding the cart ⁴that carried the Ark of God. Ahio walked in front of the Ark. ⁵David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

⁶But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. ⁷Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God.

⁸David was angry because the Lord’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today.

⁹David was now afraid of the Lord, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?” ¹⁰So David decided not to move the Ark of the Lord into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. ¹¹The Ark of the Lord remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and his entire household.