1 Chronicles 15

David had buildings put up for himself in the City of David. He also got a place ready for the ark of God and set up a tent for it.

1And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.

NoteThe City of David was the old hilltop fortress David had captured from the Jebusites; it formed the original core of Jerusalem, on a ridge below the site where the temple would later stand. The "ark of God" was a gold-covered wooden chest, carried on poles, that held the stone tablets of the covenant; it was Israel's most sacred object and was treated as the place where the LORD's presence met his people. Since there was as yet no temple, David housed it in a tent, as it had been housed since the wilderness years.

2Then David said, "No one may carry the ark of God except the Levites. The LORD chose them to carry the ark of God and to serve him always."

2Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.

NoteThe Levites were one of the twelve tribes, set apart to take charge of the sanctuary and its furniture instead of receiving territory of their own. Within that tribe, the descendants of Aaron served as priests; the rest handled transport, guarding, music and maintenance. "Serve him always" means the arrangement was permanent, not that individual men served without a break.

3David called all Israel together at Jerusalem to bring the ark of the LORD up to the place he had gotten ready for it.

3And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it.

4David also gathered the descendants of Aaron, who were the priests, along with the rest of the Levites.

4And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:

5From the sons of Kohath came Uriel the leader, with 120 of his relatives.

5Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty:

NoteVerses 5 to 10 list six family groups. Kohath, Merari and Gershom were the three sons of Levi, from whom all Levites descended; Elizaphan, Hebron and Uzziel head sub-branches within the Kohath line. The numbers are the fighting-age or duty-age men available from each group, not the size of the families.

6From the sons of Merari came Asaiah the leader, with 220 of his relatives.

6Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:

7From the sons of Gershom came Joel the leader, with 130 of his relatives.

7Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and thirty:

8From the sons of Elizaphan came Shemaiah the leader, with 200 of his relatives.

8Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred:

9From the sons of Hebron came Eliel the leader, with 80 of his relatives.

9Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore:

10From the sons of Uzziel came Amminadab the leader, with 112 of his relatives.

10Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.

11Then David sent for Zadok and Abiathar, who were priests, and for the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

11And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,

NoteTwo men held the office of chief priest at this time, Zadok and Abiathar, an unusual double arrangement that lasted through David's reign.

12He said to them, "You are the heads of the Levite families. Make yourselves and your relatives clean and set apart for God, so you can bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have gotten ready for it."

12And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.

NoteTo "make yourselves clean and set apart" (older translations say "sanctify") was a set of physical preparations required before handling holy objects: washing the body, laundering clothes, avoiding contact with anything that made a person ritually unclean, and abstaining from sex for a stated period. It was about ceremonial fitness for a task, not about moral guilt.

13"The first time, you Levites did not carry it, and so the LORD our God broke out in anger against us, because we did not go about it the way he had commanded."

13For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.

NoteThis refers back to the first attempt to move the ark, described two chapters earlier: it was loaded onto a new ox cart rather than carried by Levites, and when Uzzah put out his hand to steady it he died on the spot. The King James "made a breach upon us" uses "breach" in its old sense of a sudden violent break, like water bursting through a dam.

14So the priests and the Levites made themselves clean and set apart for God, so they could bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel.

14So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.

15The Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders using the poles made for it, just as Moses had commanded, following what the LORD had said.

15And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD.

NoteThe instructions in Exodus specified that the ark be fitted with rings at its corners through which carrying poles were permanently threaded, so that the chest itself was never touched by hand and was borne on men's shoulders rather than on a vehicle.

16David told the leaders of the Levites to choose their relatives to be the singers. They were to sing loudly and joyfully, playing on instruments: harps, lyres, and cymbals.

16And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.

NoteThe instruments are stringed instruments of two sizes, usually rendered harps and lyres, plus cymbals. The King James "psaltery" is an old English name for a plucked stringed instrument and has nothing to do with the book of Psalms.

17So the Levites chose Heman son of Joel. From his relatives they chose Asaph son of Berechiah. From their relatives the sons of Merari they chose Ethan son of Kushaiah.

17So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;

18With them were their relatives who were second in rank: Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel.

18And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the porters.

Note"Ben" is a puzzle in the text. The Hebrew word simply means "son," it is missing from several ancient manuscripts and from the parallel list in verse 20, and many scholars take it as a copyist's stray word rather than a man's name. It is left standing here because the Hebrew as received contains it. "Gatekeepers" (King James "porters") were Levites assigned to guard the entrances to the sanctuary and control who could approach.

19The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were given the bronze cymbals to play.

19So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass;

20Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps set to Alamoth.

20And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth;

Note"Alamoth" is a musical direction whose meaning is lost. The word is related to the Hebrew for young women, so it is often guessed to mean a high pitch or a soprano range, but this is not certain. It also appears in the heading of Psalm 46.

21Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres set to Sheminith.

21And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel.

Note"Sheminith" means "the eighth" and is likewise an unexplained musical term, perhaps a lower octave, perhaps an eight-stringed instrument, perhaps a particular tune. It appears in the headings of Psalms 6 and 12. "To excel" in the King James translates a word for leading or directing the performance.

22Chenaniah, a leader among the Levites, was in charge of the singing. He gave directions for it, because he was very good at it.

22And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.

23Berechiah and Elkanah were guards at the doorway for the ark.

23And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.

24The priests Shebaniah, Jehoshaphat, Nethaneel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer blew the trumpets in front of the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were also guards for the ark.

24And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

NoteThese trumpets were the straight silver trumpets described in the law of Moses, blown by priests to signal assembly, marching and festivals. They are a different instrument from the curved ram's horn mentioned in verse 28.

25So David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of the army units went with joy to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom.

25So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the house of Obededom with joy.

Note"Commanders of thousands" were officers over the largest units of Israel's militia. The ark had been left at Obed-edom's house for three months after the failed first attempt to move it, described two chapters earlier.

26Because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they offered seven bulls and seven rams as sacrifices.

26And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.

NoteSeven bulls and seven rams was an unusually large offering, marking the occasion as a major public event; seven was the conventional number for a complete or full-measure act.

27David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, and so were all the Levites who carried the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah, who was in charge of the music for the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.

27And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.

NoteThe ephod was a sleeveless linen garment tied at the waist, the working dress of those serving at the sanctuary. The plain linen ephod worn here is a simpler item than the elaborate embroidered ephod reserved for the chief priest. David, though a king and not a priest, wears it as a man taking part in the sacred procession.

28So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD, shouting and blowing rams' horns and trumpets, and playing cymbals, harps, and lyres.

28Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

29As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was coming into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked down from a window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating, and inside herself she looked down on him.

29And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal, the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.

NoteMichal was Saul's daughter and David's first wife. Saul had given her to David, then taken her back and married her to another man during the years the two were at war; David had recently reclaimed her. The contempt described here is therefore loaded with the history between David and her father's house. The narrative gives her reaction without stating what she objected to.