1 Chronicles 15:1-13
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 The Message (MSG)
After David built houses for himself in the City of David, he cleared a place for the Chest and pitched a tent for it. Then David gave orders: “No one carries the Chest of God except the Levites; GOD designated them and them only to carry the Chest of GOD and be available full time for service in the work of worship.” David then called everyone in Israel to assemble in Jerusalem to bring up the Chest of GOD to its specially prepared place. David also called in the family of Aaron and the Levites. From the family of Kohath, Uriel the head with 120 relatives; from the family of Merari, Asaiah the head with 220 relatives; from the family of Gershon, Joel the head with 130 relatives; from the family of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the head with 200 relatives; from the family of Hebron, Eliel the head with 80 relatives; from the family of Uzziel, Amminadab the head with 112 relatives. Then David called in Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab the Levites. He said, “You are responsible for the Levitical families; now consecrate yourselves, both you and your relatives, and bring up the Chest of the GOD of Israel to the place I have set aside for it. The first time we did this, you Levites did not carry it properly, and GOD exploded in anger at us because we didn’t make proper preparation and follow instructions.”
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 King James Version (KJV)
And David made him houses 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 to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever. And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it. And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty: of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty: of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and thirty: of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred: of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore: of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve. And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, and said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify 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 it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Now David built houses for himself in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, “No 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.” And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place which he had prepared for it. David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and 120 of his relatives; of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and 220 of his relatives; of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and 130 of his relatives; of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and 200 of his relatives; of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and 80 of his relatives; of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and 112 of his relatives. Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab, and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; consecrate yourselves both you and your relatives, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it. Because 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.”
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 New Century Version (NCV)
David built houses for himself in Jerusalem. Then he prepared a place for the Ark of God, and he set up a tent for it. David said, “Only the Levites may carry the Ark of God. The LORD chose them to carry the Ark of the LORD and to serve him forever.” David called all the people of Israel to come to Jerusalem. He wanted to bring the Ark of the LORD to the place he had made for it. David called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites. There were one hundred twenty people from Kohath’s family group, with Uriel as their leader. There were two hundred twenty people from Merari’s family group, with Asaiah as their leader. There were one hundred thirty people from Gershon’s family group, with Joel as their leader. There were two hundred people from Elizaphan’s family group, with Shemaiah as their leader. There were eighty people from Hebron’s family group, with Eliel as their leader. And there were one hundred twelve people from Uzziel’s family group, with Amminadab as their leader. Then David asked the priests Zadok and Abiathar and these Levites to come to him: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. David said to them, “You are the leaders of the families of Levi. You and the other Levites must give yourselves for service to the LORD. Bring up the Ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have made for it. The last time we did not ask the LORD how to carry it. You Levites didn’t carry it, so the LORD our God punished us.”
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 American Standard Version (ASV)
And David made him houses in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath Jehovah chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever. And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Jehovah unto its place, which he had prepared for it. And David gathered together the sons of Aaron, and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twenty; of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty; of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty; of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred; of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore; of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve. And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, and said unto them, Ye are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto the place that I have prepared for it. For because ye bare it not at the first, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not according to the ordinance.
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 New International Version (NIV)
After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever.” David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. He called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites: From the descendants of Kohath, Uriel the leader and 120 relatives; from the descendants of Merari, Asaiah the leader and 220 relatives; from the descendants of Gershon, Joel the leader and 130 relatives; from the descendants of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives; from the descendants of Hebron, Eliel the leader and 80 relatives; from the descendants of Uzziel, Amminadab the leader and 112 relatives. Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.”
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 New King James Version (NKJV)
David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, “No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.” And David gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it. Then David assembled the children of Aaron and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and one hundred and twenty of his brethren; of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brethren; of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brethren; of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and two hundred of his brethren; of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and eighty of his brethren; of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brethren. And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.”
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 Amplified Bible (AMP)
David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God except the Levites; for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.” And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to the place which he had prepared for it. David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his relatives; of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his relatives; of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his relatives; of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his relatives; of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his relatives; of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his relatives. Then David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites—Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, and he said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites; consecrate yourselves, both you and your relatives, so that you may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. Because you did not [carry it as God directed] the first time, the LORD our God made an [angry] outburst against us, for we did not seek Him in accordance with the ordinance.” [Num 1:50; 1 Chr 13:7-10]
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
David now built several buildings for himself in the City of David. He also prepared a place for the Ark of God and set up a special tent for it. Then he commanded, “No one except the Levites may carry the Ark of God. The LORD has chosen them to carry the Ark of the LORD and to serve him forever.” Then David summoned all Israel to Jerusalem to bring the Ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. This is the number of the descendants of Aaron (the priests) and the Levites who were called together: From the clan of Kohath, 120, with Uriel as their leader. From the clan of Merari, 220, with Asaiah as their leader. From the clan of Gershon, 130, with Joel as their leader. From the descendants of Elizaphan, 200, with Shemaiah as their leader. From the descendants of Hebron, 80, with Eliel as their leader. From the descendants of Uzziel, 112, with Amminadab as their leader. Then David summoned the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, and these Levite leaders: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. He said to them, “You are the leaders of the Levite families. You must purify yourselves and all your fellow Levites, so you can bring the Ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the LORD our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly.”
1 Chronicles 15:1-13 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
David built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD had chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister to him forever. And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it. And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers; of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers; of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers; of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers; of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers. Then David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. Because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.”