2 Samuel 6

1 David again assembled the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in all.

Then David chose 30,000 Israeli men and gathered them together.

2 And he and all his troops set out for Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name— the name of the LORD of Hosts, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on it.

He led them to the place in Judah [formerly] called Baalah, [now called Kiriath-Jearim]. They went in order to bring from there [to Jerusalem] the sacred chest, which had the name of Yahweh, the leader of the armies of [the angels in] heaven, written on it, and which had the [statues of the] winged creatures on top of it. Between those statues was where Yahweh spoke messages about ruling his people [MTY].

3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart,

The sacred chest was in the house of Abinadab, on top of a hill. They went there, and they put the chest on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio, the two sons of Abinadab, were guiding [the oxen that were pulling the cart].

4 bringing with it the ark of God. And Ahio was walking in front of the ark.

Uzzah walked alongside the cart, and Ahio walked in front of it.

5 David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of wood instruments, harps, stringed instruments, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.

David and all the Israeli men were celebrating in God’s presence, singing with all their strength and [playing] lyres and harps, and beating tambourines, and clashing castanets and cymbals.

6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen had stumbled.

But when they came to the place where Nacon threshed grain, the oxen stumbled. So Uzzah put his hand on the sacred chest to (steady it/prevent it from falling [off the cart]).

7 And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.

Yahweh immediately became very angry with Uzzah, and he killed him right there alongside the sacred chest, because he had touched the chest, [and Yahweh had commanded that only the descendants of Levi who help the priests should touch the sacred chest].

8 Then David became angry because the LORD had burst forth against Uzzah; so he named that place Perez-uzzah, as it is called to this day.

David was angry because Yahweh had punished Uzzah. So ever since that time, that place has been called ‘The Punishment of Uzzah’.

9 That day David feared the LORD and asked, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?”

David was [also] afraid of [what else] Yahweh [would do to punish them], so he said, “(How can I take the sacred chest with me [to Jerusalem]?/I am afraid to take the sacred chest with me [to Jerusalem].)” [RHQ]

10 So he was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD to the City of David; instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.

So he did not want to take the sacred chest to Jerusalem. Instead, they took it to another place; they took it to the house of Obed-Edom, from Gath [city].

11 Thus the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and all his household.

They left the sacred chest in the house of Obed-Edom for three months, and [during that time] Yahweh blessed Obed-Edom and his family.

12 Now it was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with rejoicing.

Later, people told David, “Yahweh has blessed Obed-Edom and his family because [he is taking care] of the sacred chest!” When David heard that, he [and some other men] went to Obed-Edom’s house, and very joyfully brought the sacred chest from there to Jerusalem.

13 When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.

[This time, descendants of Levi] were carrying the sacred chest, but when they had walked only six steps, they stopped, and there David killed a bull and a fat calf, and offered them to Yahweh for a sacrifice.

14 And David, wearing a linen ephod, danced with all his might before the LORD,

David was wearing [only] a linen cloth wrapped around his waist, and was dancing very energetically to honor Yahweh.

15 while he and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sounding of the ram’s horn.

David and the Israeli men took the sacred chest up [to Jerusalem], shouting [loudly] and blowing trumpets.

16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.

While they were carrying the sacred chest into the city, [David’s wife] Michal, who was Saul’s daughter, looked out the window [of her house]. She saw King David leaping and dancing to honor Yahweh. So she was disgusted with him.

17 So they brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

They brought the sacred chest into the tent that David had erected for it. Then David gave to Yahweh offerings to be completely burned [on an altar], and other offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh.

18 When David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of Hosts.

When David had finished offering those sacrifices, he asked Yahweh, the Commander of the armies [of the angels], to bless the people.

19 Then he distributed to every man and woman among the multitude of Israel a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. And all the people departed, each for his own home.

He also distributed food to all the people. To each Israeli man and woman he gave a loaf of bread, some meat, and a raisin cake. Then all the people returned to their homes.

20 As soon as David returned home to bless his own household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today!” she said. “He has uncovered himself today in the sight of the maidservants of his subjects, like a vulgar person would do.”

When David went home to [ask Yahweh to] bless his family, his wife Michal came out to meet him. She said to him, “Maybe you, the king of Israel, [think that you] [IRO] were honoring yourself today, but really, you acted like a fool, uncovering yourself while the female servants of your officials were watching!”

21 But David said to Michal, “I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me over your father and all his house when He appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the LORD,

David replied to Michal, “[I was doing that] to honor Yahweh, who chose me instead of your father and other members of his family, to be the king of the Israeli people, the people who belong to Yahweh. And I will [continue to] dance to honor Yahweh!

22 and I will humiliate and humble myself even more than this. Yet I will be honored by the maidservants of whom you have spoken.”

[Even though you think that what I did] was disgraceful, I will continue to do it even more. You may despise me [because of what I did], but the women whom you were talking about will honor me!”

23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

[As a result, ] Saul’s daughter Michal never gave birth to any children.