1 Chronicles 15

Plans to Move the Ark to Jerusalem

1 Now David built houses for himself in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and ¹pitched a tent for it.

2 Then David said, "²No one is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever *."

3 And ³David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD ⁴to its place which he had prepared for it.

4 David gathered together the sons of Aaron and ⁵the Levites:

5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and 120 * of his relatives;

6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and 220 * of his relatives;

7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and 130 * of his relatives;

8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and 200 of his relatives;

9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and 80 of his relatives;

10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and 112 * * of his relatives.

11 Then David called for ⁶Zadok and ⁷Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab,

12 and said to them, "You are the heads of the fathers' households of the Levites; ⁸consecrate yourselves both you and your relatives, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel ⁹to the place that I have prepared for it.

13 "¹⁰Because you did not carry it at the first, the LORD our God made an outburst on us, for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance."

14 ¹¹So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.

15 The sons of ¹²the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles thereon, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.

16 Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites ¹³to appoint their relatives the singers, with instruments of music, harps, lyres, loud-sounding cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.

17 So ¹⁴the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel, and from his relatives, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and from the sons of Merari their relatives, Ethan the son of Kushaiah,

18 and with them their relatives of the second rank, Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers.

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

20 and Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah, with harps tuned to ¹⁵alamoth;

21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel and Azaziah, to lead with lyres tuned to ¹⁶the sheminith.

22 Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was in charge of the singing; he gave instruction in singing because he was skillful.

23 Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers for the ark.

24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah and Eliezer, the priests, ¹⁷blew the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah also were gatekeepers for the ark.

25 ¹⁸So it was David, with the elders of Israel and the captains over thousands, who went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from ¹⁹the house of Obed-edom with joy.

26 Because God was helping the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed ²⁰seven bulls and seven rams.

27 Now David was clothed with a robe of fine linen with all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the singing with the singers. ²¹David also wore an ephod of linen.

28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the horn, with trumpets, with loud-sounding cymbals, with harps and lyres.

29 It happened when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that ²²Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and celebrating; and she despised him in her heart.

1 Chronicles 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

Preparations for the removal of the ark. (1-24) The removal of the ark. (25-29)

Verses 1-24 Wise and good men may be guilty of oversights, which they will correct, as soon as they are aware of them. David does not try to justify what had been done amiss, nor to lay the blame on others; but he owns himself guilty, with others, of not seeking God in due order

Verses 25-29 It is good to notice the assistance of Divine Providence, even in things which fall within the compass of our natural powers; if God did not help us, we could not stir a step. If we do our religious duties in any degree aright, we must own it was God that helped us; had we been left to ourselves, we should have been guilty of some fatal errors. And every thing in which we engage, must be done in dependence on the mercy of God through the sacrifice of the Redeemer.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Chronicles 15:3; 1 Chronicles 16:1; 1 Chronicles 17:1-5
• 2. Numbers 4:15; Deuteronomy 10:8
• 3. 1 Kings 8:1; 1 Chronicles 13:5
• 4. Exodus 40:20; 2 Samuel 6:12, 17; 1 Chronicles 15:1, 12
• 5. 1 Chronicles 6:16-30; 1 Chronicles 12:26
• 6. 1 Chronicles 12:28
• 7. 1 Samuel 22:20-23; 1 Kings 2:26, 35
• 8. Exodus 19:14, 15; 2 Chronicles 35:6
• 9. 1 Chronicles 15:1, 3
• 10. 2 Samuel 6:3; 1 Chronicles 13:7
• 11. 1 Chronicles 15:12
• 12. Exodus 25:14; Numbers 4:5
• 13. 1 Chronicles 13:8; 1 Chronicles 25:1
• 14. 1 Chronicles 25:1
• 15. Ps 46: title
• 16. Ps 6: title
• 17. 1 Chronicles 15:28; 1 Chronicles 16:6
• 18. 2 Samuel 6:12, 15
• 19. 1 Chronicles 13:13
• 20. Num 23:1-4, 29
• 21. 2 Samuel 6:14
• 22. 2 Samuel 3:13; 2 Samuel 6:16

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "brothers;" i.e. fellow tribesmen, and so throughout the ch
• [b]. Omitted in Gr and many mss
• [c]. Or "harps of maiden-like tone"
• [d]. Or "octave harps"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 15

David, having prepared a place for the ark of God, gathered the Israelites, Levites, and priests, to assist in the bringing of it up thereunto, 1Ch 15:1,13 and which was done in a very honourable and joyful manner, 1Ch 15:24-28, though David, for his behaviour, was despised by Michal his wife in her heart, 1Ch 15:29.