1 Chronicles 15

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

1David built houses for himself in the city of David. He also got a place ready for the ark of God. Then he put up a tent for it.

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.

2David said, "Only the Levites may carry the ark of God. The LORD picked them to carry it. He also picked them to serve him always."

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.

3David called all Israel to come to Jerusalem. He wanted to bring the ark of the LORD to the place he had made ready.

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

4David gathered the family of Aaron and the Levites together.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

12David said, "You are the leaders of the Levite families. Make yourselves clean and ready for God's work. Then bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. Bring it to the place I made ready for it."

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.

13"The first time, you Levites did not carry it. So the LORD our God broke out against us in anger. We did not ask him how it should be done."

NoteThe KJV says God "made a breach upon us." That means his anger broke out against them, like water bursting through a wall.

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

14So the priests and the Levites made themselves clean and ready. Then they could bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel.

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.

15The Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders. They used the long poles made for carrying it. They did just what Moses had said, following the LORD's word.

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.

16David told the Levite leaders to choose their relatives to be singers. They would sing loudly and with joy. Others would play harps, lyres, and cymbals with them.

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;

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

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.

18With them were the helpers who came next in rank. They were Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Elipheleh, and Mikneiah. Obed-edom and Jeiel were the gatekeepers.

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

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

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

20Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps. They played them in the style called Alamoth.

NoteAlamoth and Sheminith in verses 20 and 21 are old music words. They may name high or low notes, or a certain tune. No one today knows for sure.

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

21Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead the music. They played lyres in the style called Sheminith.

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

22Chenaniah, a Levite leader, was in charge of the singing. He taught the others how to sing, because he was very good at it.

23And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.

23Berechiah and Elkanah were 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.

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.

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.

25So David went with the leaders of Israel and the army commanders. They were full of joy. They went to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom.

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.

26God helped the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD. So the people gave God an offering of seven bulls and seven rams.

NoteThe KJV word "bullocks" means young bulls.

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.

27David wore a robe of fine linen cloth. So did the Levites who carried the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah, who led the singing. David also wore a linen ephod, a special vest worn for serving God.

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.

28So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD. They shouted for joy. They blew rams' horns and trumpets. They played cymbals, harps, and lyres.

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.

29The ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the city of David. Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from a window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating. Deep inside, she thought less of him for it.