1 Chronicles 15

1 And he made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and spread a tent for it.
2 Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for them has Jehovah chosen to carry the ark of God, and to serve him for ever.
3 And David assembled all Israel to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Jehovah to its place that he had prepared for it.
4 And David gathered the sons of Aaron and the Levites:
5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twenty;
6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty;
7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty;
8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred;
9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and his brethren eighty;
10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve.
11 And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab;
12 and he said to them, Ye are the chief fathers of the Levites; hallow yourselves, ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of Jehovah the God of Israel to [the place that] I have prepared for it.
13 For because ye did [it] not at the first, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
14 So the priests and the Levites hallowed themselves to bring up the ark of Jehovah the God of Israel.
15 And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves upon them, as Moses had commanded according to the word of Jehovah.
16 And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren, the singers, with instruments of music, lutes, and harps, and cymbals, that they should sound aloud, lifting up the voice with joy.
17 And the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;
18 and with them their brethren of the second [rank], Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers;
19 and the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, to sound aloud with cymbals of brass;
20 and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with lutes on Alamoth;
21 and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-Edom and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to lead [the singing].
22 And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites for the music, gave instruction in music, for he was skilful.
23 And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.
24 And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, blew with the trumpets before the ark of God; and Obed-Edom and Jehijah were doorkeepers for the ark.
25 And David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the house of Obed-Edom with joy.
26 And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, that they sacrificed seven bullocks and seven rams.
27 And David was clothed with a robe of byssus, and all the Levites that bore the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah chief of the music of the singers; and David had upon him a linen ephod.
28 And all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah with shouting, and with sound of the trumpet, and with clarions, and with cymbals, playing aloud with lutes and harps.
29 And it came to pass as the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked through a window, and saw king David dancing and playing; 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.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Probably '[voices] of young women,' Ps. 46, title.
  • [b]. Lit. 'eighth,' probably the bass octave, Ps. 6, title.
  • [c]. Or 'transport.' The Hebrew root means, 'to bear' or 'to lift up.'

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.

1 Chronicles 15 Commentaries

The Darby Translation is in the public domain.