¶ And David made him houses¹ in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.

Then David said, None ought to³ carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister⁴ unto him for ever.

And David gathered⁵ all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up⁶ the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it.

And David assembled the children of Aaron⁷, and the Levites:

Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel⁸ the chief, and his brethren⁹ an hundred and twenty:

Of the sons of Merari¹⁰; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:

Of the sons of Gershom; Joel¹¹ the chief, and his brethren an hundred and thirty:

Of the sons of Elizaphan¹²; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred:

Of the sons of Hebron¹⁴; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore:

¶ Of the sons of Uzziel¹⁵; Amminadab¹⁶ the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.

And David called for Zadok¹⁷ and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel¹⁸, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,

And said unto them, Ye are the chief¹⁹ of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify²⁰ yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.

For because ye did it²¹ not at the first, the LORD²² our God made a breach upon us, for that²³ we sought him not after the due order.

So the priests and the Levites sanctified²⁴ themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.

And the children of the Levites bare the ark²⁵ of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD.

And David²⁶ spake to the chief²⁷ of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers²⁸ with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up²⁹ the voice with joy.

So the Levites appointed Heman³⁰ the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph³¹ the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan³² the son of Kushaiah;

And with them their brethren of the second³⁴ degree, Zechariah³⁵, Ben, and Jaaziel³⁶, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the porters.

³⁸So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass;

¶ And Zechariah, and Aziel³⁹, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth;

And Mattithiah⁴¹, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps⁴² on the Sheminith to excel⁴³.

And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for⁴⁴ song: he instructed⁴⁵ about the song, because he was skilful.

⁴⁶And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.

And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom⁴⁸ and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

¶ So David⁴⁹, and the elders of Israel, and the captains⁵⁰ over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the house of Obededom⁵¹ with joy⁵².

And it came to pass, when God⁵³ helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they⁵⁴ offered seven bullocks⁵⁵ and seven rams.

And David was clothed with a robe⁵⁶ of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah⁵⁷ the master of the song⁵⁸ with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.

Thus all Israel brought up⁵⁹ the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting⁶⁰, and with sound of the cornet⁶¹, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

And it came to pass, as the ark⁶² of the covenant of the LORD⁶³ came to the city of David, that Michal⁶⁴ the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing⁶⁵ and playing: and she despised⁶⁶ him in her heart.