2 Samuel 6–7

David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem

⁶David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. ²David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim.^{* 3}They carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio,^a the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart^{* 4}with the ark of God,^b and Ahio^c went in front of the ark.^{* 5}David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs^d and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.^*

⁶When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen lurched.^{* 7}The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him there,^e and he died there beside the ark of God.^{* 8}David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah, so that place is called Perez-uzzah^f to this day. ⁹David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?” ¹⁰So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead, David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.^{* 11}The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.^*

¹²It was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing,^{* 13}and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatted calf. ¹⁴David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.^{* 15}So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.^*

¹⁶As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.^*

¹⁷They brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord.^{* 18}When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts^{* 19}and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat,^g and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

²⁰David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ maids, as any vulgar fellow might shamelessly uncover himself!”^{* 21}David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me in place of your father and all his household, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—I will dance before the Lord.^{* 22}I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be humbled in my own eyes, but by the maids of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” ²³And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

God’s Covenant with David

⁷Now when the king was settled in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,^{* 2}the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.”^{* 3}Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”^*

⁴But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ⁵“Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? ⁶I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. ⁷Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders^h of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’^{* 8}Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel,^{* 9}and I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.^{* 10}And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and be disturbed no more, and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,^{* 11}from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.^{* 12}When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.^{* 13}He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.^{* 14}I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings.^{* 15}But I will not takeⁱ my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.^{* 16}Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me;^j your throne shall be established forever.”^{* 17}In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David’s Prayer

¹⁸Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?^{* 19}And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house into the distant future. May this be instruction for the people,^k O Lord God! ²⁰And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God!^{* 21}Because of your promise and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness so that your servant may know it. ²²Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.^{* 23}Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another^l nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people and to make a name for himself, doing^m great and awesome things, driving outⁿ nations and their gods before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt?^{* 24}And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.^{* 25}And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. ²⁶Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.^{* 27}For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.^{* 28}And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant;^{* 29}now, therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant so that it may continue forever before you, for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”^*