1 Chronicles 15:1-13

David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem

15:1 David constructed buildings in the City of David; he then prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 15:2 Then David said, “Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve before him perpetually. 15:3 David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem ¹  to bring the ark of the Lord up to the place he had prepared for it. 15:4 David gathered together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites:

15:5 From the descendants of Kohath: Uriel the leader and 120 of his relatives.

15:6 From the descendants of Merari: Asaiah the leader and 220 of his relatives.

15:7 From the descendants of Gershom: ²  Joel the leader and 130 of his relatives.

15:8 From the descendants of Elizaphan: Shemaiah the leader and 200 of his relatives.

15:9 From the descendants of Hebron: Eliel the leader and 80 of his relatives.

15:10 From the descendants of Uzziel: Amminadab the leader and 112 of his relatives.

15:11 David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, along with the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 15:12 He told them: “You are the leaders of the Levites’ families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves and bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel up to the place I have prepared for it. 15:13 The first time you did not carry it; that is why the Lord God attacked us, because we did not ask him about the proper way to carry it.” ³ 

[15:3]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:7]  ² sn Gershom is a variant spelling of the name Gershon.

[15:13]  ³ tn Heb “because for what was at first [i.e., formerly] you [were] not, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him concerning the procedure.”