1 Chronicles 13
1 And David consults with the heads of the thousands and of the hundreds, [and] with every leader,
[One day] David talked with all his army officers. Some of them were commanders of 100 soldiers and some were commanders of 1,000 soldiers.
2 and David says to all the assembly of Israel, “If it is good to you, and it has broken forth from our God YHWH—we send to our brothers, those left in all the lands of Israel, and the priests and the Levites with them in the cities of their outskirts, and they are gathered to us,
Then he summoned the other Israeli leaders and said to all of them, “If it seems to you to be a good thing for us to do, and if it is what Yahweh our God wants, let’s send a message to our fellow Israelis in all the areas of our country, including the priests and [other] descendants of Levi who are living among them in their towns and in the nearby pasturelands, to come and join us,
3 and we bring around the Ark of our God to us, for we did not seek Him in the days of Saul.”
because we want to bring the Sacred Chest of our God back to us. While Saul [was the king], we did not go to God’s presence to ask him what we should do.”
4 And all the assembly says to do so, for the thing is right in the eyes of all the people.
All the people agreed with David, because they all thought that it was the right thing to do.
5 And David assembles all Israel from Shihor of Egypt even to the entering in of Hamath, to bring in the Ark of God from Kirjath-Jearim,
So David gathered all the Israeli people, from the Shihor [River] in Egypt to Lebo-Hamath [town in the north, and told them that he wanted them] to [help] bring the Sacred Chest of God [back to Jerusalem] from Kiriath-Jearim [city].
6 and David goes up, and all Israel, to Ba‘alah, to Kirjath-Jearim that [belongs] to Judah, to bring up from there the Ark of God, YHWH, inhabiting the cherubim, where the Name is called on.
David went with all the Israeli people to Baalah [town], which is [another name for] Kiriath-Jearim, to get the Sacred Chest. [The people believed that] God ruled from between the statues of winged creatures that was above the lid of the Sacred Chest [MTY].
7 And they place the Ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio are leading the cart,
The people put the Sacred Chest on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab’s house. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding [the oxen that were pulling the cart].
8 and David and all Israel are playing before God, with all strength, and with songs, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.
David and all the Israeli people were celebrating in God’s presence with all their strength. They were singing and [playing] lyres, harps, tambourines, and cymbals, and [blowing] trumpets.
9 And they come to the threshing-floor of Chidon, and Uzza puts forth his hand to seize the Ark, for the oxen were released,
But when David’s men came to the place where Kidon threshed grain, the oxen stumbled. So Uzzah reached out with his hand to prevent the Sacred Chest from falling off the cart.
10 and the anger of YHWH is kindled against Uzza, and He strikes him, because that he has put forth his hand on the Ark, and he dies there before God.
Yahweh immediately became very angry with Uzzah, and he caused Uzzah to suddenly die there because he had put his hand on the Sacred Chest, [and Yahweh had commanded that only the descendants of Levi who help the priests should touch the Sacred Chest].
11 And it is displeasing to David, because YHWH has made a breach on Uzza, and one calls that place “Breach of Uzza” to this day.
David was angry because Yahweh had punished [MTY] Uzzah. And now that place [where Uzzah died] is called ‘The Punishment of Uzzah’.
12 And David fears God on that day, saying, “How do I bring the Ark of God to me?”
That day, David was afraid of God. He asked [himself], “(How can I bring God’s Sacred Chest to my [city]?/I am afraid to bring God’s Sacred Chest to my [city].)” [RHQ]
13 And David has not turned aside the Ark to himself, to the City of David, and turns it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
So the men with David did not take the Sacred Chest to Jerusalem. Instead, they took it to the house of Obed-Edom, who was from Gath [city].
14 And the Ark of God dwells with the household of Obed-Edom, in his house, three months, and YHWH blesses the house of Obed-Edom, and all that he has.
The Sacred Chest stayed with Obed-Edom’s family in his house for three months. And [during that time] Yahweh blessed Obed-Edom’s family and everything that he owned.
