The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

1 ^tDavid again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from ^uBaale-judah ^vto bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts ^wwho sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God ^xon a new cart and brought it ^yout of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio,¹ the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God,² and Ahio went before the ark.

Uzzah and the Ark

5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with ^zsongs³ and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of ^aNacon, Uzzah ^bput out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and ^cGod struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah⁴ to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside ^dto the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, ^eand the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

12 And 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.” ^fSo David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom ^gto the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when ^hthose who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, ⁱhe sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David ^jdanced before the Lord with all his might. And David was ^kwearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

David and Michal

16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the 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. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it ^lin its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. ^mAnd David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, ⁿhe blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts 19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat,⁵ and a cake of raisins to each one. ^oThen all the people departed, each to his house.

20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, ^puncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the ^qvulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, ^rwho chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince⁶ over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your⁷ eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

The Ark Brought from Kiriath-Jearim

1 David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. 2 And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our brothers ^dwho remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. 3 Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, ^efor we did not seek it¹ in the days of Saul.” 4 All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

Uzzah and the Ark

5 ^fSo David assembled all Israel ^gfrom the ^hNile² of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God ⁱfrom Kiriath-jearim. 6 ^jAnd David and all Israel went up to ^kBaalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord who ^lsits enthroned above the cherubim. 7 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of ^mAbinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio³ were driving the cart. 8 And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and ⁿlyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

9 And when they came to the threshing floor of ^oChidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. 10 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down ^pbecause he put out his hand to the ark, and ^qhe died there before God. 11 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza⁴ to this day. 12 And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” 13 So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house ^rof Obed-edom the Gittite. 14 And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. ^sAnd the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to ^fShushan Eduth. A ^gMiktam¹ of David; ^hfor instruction; when he ⁱstrove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, ^xI have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest ^yAnanias commanded those who stood by him ^zto strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you ^awhitewashed ^bwall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ^ccontrary to the law you ^corder me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile ^dGod’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, ^e“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ^f‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were ^gSadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, ^hI am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ⁱwith respect to the ^jhope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees ^ksay that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of ^lthe scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, ^m“We find nothing wrong in this man. What ⁿif a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ^othe barracks.

11 ^pThe following night ^qthe Lord stood by him and said, ^r“Take courage, for ^sas you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ^ttestify also in Rome.”

A Plot to Kill Paul

12 When it was day, ^uthe Jews made a plot and ^vbound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”

16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered ^wthe barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul ^xthe prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, ^y“The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who ^zhave bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night.¹ 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to ^aFelix ^bthe governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:

26 “Claudius Lysias, to ^chis Excellency the governor Felix, ^dgreetings. 27 ^eThis man was seized by the Jews and ^fwas about to be killed by them ^fwhen I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, ^ghaving learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And ^hdesiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused ⁱabout questions of their law, but ^jcharged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 ^kAnd when it was disclosed to me ^lthat there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ^mordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”

31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to ⁿthe barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what ^oprovince he was from. And when he learned ^pthat he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing ^qwhen your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s ^rpraetorium.