1 Chronicles 13
1 David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, even 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 David said to all the assembly of Israel, "If it seems good to you, and if there is a breakthrough from YHWH our God, let us send abroad everywhere to our brothers who are left in all the land of Israel, with whom the priests and Levites are in their cities that have suburbs, that they may gather themselves 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 let us bring again the ark of our God to us. For we did not seek it 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 All the assembly said that they would do so; for the thing was 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 So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor of Egypt even to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath 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 went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath Jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of YHWH enthroned on the cherubim.
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 They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drove 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 David and all Israel played before God with all their might, even with songs, and with harps, and with stringed instruments, and with tambourines, 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 When they came to the threshing floor of Nodan, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.
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 The anger of YHWH was kindled against Uzza, and he struck him, because he put forth his hand to the ark; and there he died 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 David was displeased, because YHWH had broken forth on Uzza; and he called that place Perez 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 David was afraid of God that day, saying, "How can 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 So David did not move the ark to him into the City of David, but diverted it 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 The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months: and YHWH blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that he had.
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.
