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12 It 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;

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

15David^* built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. ²Then David commanded that no one but the Levites were to carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him for ever. ³David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. ⁴Then David gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites: ⁵of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with one hundred and twenty of his kindred; ⁶of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with two hundred and twenty of his kindred; ⁷of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with one hundred and thirty of his kindred; ⁸of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with two hundred of his kindred; ⁹of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with eighty of his kindred; ¹⁰of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with one hundred and twelve of his kindred.

11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. ¹²He said to them, ‘You are the heads of families of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your kindred, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. ¹³Because you did not carry it the first time,^* the Lord our God burst out against us, because we did not give it proper care.’ ¹⁴So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their kindred as the singers to play on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise loud sounds of joy. ¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; and of his kindred Asaph son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their kindred, Ethan son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸and with them their kindred of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. ¹⁹The singers Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound bronze cymbals; ²⁰Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth; ²¹but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to the Sheminith. ²²Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music, for he understood it. ²³Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. ²⁴Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah also were to be gatekeepers for the ark.

25 So David and the elders of Israel, and the commanders of the thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing. ²⁶And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers; and David wore a linen ephod. ²⁸So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres.

12 It 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; ¹³and when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. ¹⁴David danced before the Lord with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

16 As 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.

29 As the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing; and she despised him in her heart.

17 They 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. ¹⁸When 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, ¹⁹and 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,^* and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

The Ark Placed in the Tent

16They brought in the ark of God, and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered burnt-offerings and offerings of well-being before God. ²When David had finished offering the burnt-offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord; ³and he distributed to every person in Israel—man and woman alike—to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat,^* and a cake of raisins.

4 He appointed certain of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁵Asaph was the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to blow trumpets regularly, before the ark of the covenant of God.

David’s Psalm of Thanksgiving

7 Then on that day David first appointed the singing of praises to the Lord by Asaph and his kindred.

⁸ O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
   make known his deeds among the peoples.
⁹ Sing to him, sing praises to him,
   tell of all his wonderful works.
¹⁰ Glory in his holy name;
   let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
¹¹ Seek the Lord and his strength,
   seek his presence continually.
¹² Remember the wonderful works he has done,
   his miracles, and the judgements he uttered,
¹³ O offspring of his servant Israel,^*
   children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

¹⁴ He is the Lord our God;
   his judgements are in all the earth.
¹⁵ Remember his covenant for ever,
   the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
¹⁶ the covenant that he made with Abraham,
   his sworn promise to Isaac,
¹⁷ which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
   to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
¹⁸ saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan
   as your portion for an inheritance.’

¹⁹ When they were few in number,
   of little account, and strangers in the land,^*
20 wandering from nation to nation,
   from one kingdom to another people,
²¹ he allowed no one to oppress them;
   he rebuked kings on their account,
²² saying, ‘Do not touch my anointed ones;
   do my prophets no harm.’

²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
   Tell of his salvation from day to day.
²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations,
   his marvellous works among all the peoples.
²⁵ For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   he is to be revered above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
   but the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Honour and majesty are before him;
   strength and joy are in his place.

²⁸ Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
   bring an offering, and come before him.
Worship the Lord in holy splendour;
³⁰   tremble before him, all the earth.
   The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
³¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
   and let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king!’
³² Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
   let the field exult, and everything in it.
³³ Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
   before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
³⁴ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.

³⁵Say also:
‘Save us, O God of our salvation,
   and gather and rescue us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
   and glory in your praise.
³⁶ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.’
Then all the people said ‘Amen!’ and praised the Lord.

Regular Worship Maintained

37 David left Asaph and his kinsfolk there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister regularly before the ark as each day required, ³⁸and also Obed-edom and his^* sixty-eight kinsfolk; while Obed-edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. ³⁹And he left the priest Zadok and his kindred the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon, ⁴⁰to offer burnt-offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt-offering regularly, morning and evening, according to all that is written in the law of the Lord that he commanded Israel. ⁴¹With them were Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and expressly named to render thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures for ever. ⁴²Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals for the music, and instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate.

43 Then all the people departed to their homes, and David went home to bless his household.

¹⁹and 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,^* and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

20 David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, ‘How the king of Israel honoured himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ maids, as any vulgar fellow might shamelessly uncover himself!’ ²¹David 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, that I have danced before the Lord. ²²I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in my own eyes; but by the maids of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honour.’ ²³And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.