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1 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.

2 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.

3 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.

4 And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:

5 Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an 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 an 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 fourscore:

10 Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an 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 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.

13 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.

14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

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

16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.

17 So 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 degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the porters.

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

20 And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth;

21 And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel.

22 And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because 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, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.

25 So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obededom with joy.

26 And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.

27 And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.

28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

29 And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, that Michal, the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.

<html><b>except the Levites, for the Lord chose them</b> i.e., God chose the Levites [to carry the Ark], and not a cart, for because we placed it in a cart, Uzza was punished, and that is what is stated further: “For from the beginning, [when] you were not [the bearers], the Lord our God made a breach in us, for we had not sought Him properly,” for we placed it in a cart.</html>

<html><b>according to the word of the Lord, on their shoulders</b> to carry it, not actually on their shoulders, but with staves upon them.</html>

<html><b>And with them, their brethren the second in rank</b> second in rank to them as gate sentries. <b>Zechariah Ben</b> That was his name; and all these singers and gate sentries [served] on the road by bringing the Ark. The singers and the gate sentries that David stationed after they placed the Ark into the tent that David had pitched for it and in the Tabernacle of Shiloh, were gate sentries, but they were not gate sentries while on the road, because not that many gate sentries were required. Therefore, they became singers, with the exception of two, Berechiah and Elkanah (verse 23). All this was on the road, but when the Ark rested, the singers became gate sentries.</html>

<html><b>And the singers: Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, etc.</b> To make a resounding voice, they were appointed over those musical instruments.</html>

<html><b>And Zechariah and Aziel, etc.</b> Those, mentioned in the preceding verse as being gate sentries, were here transferred to become singers. <b>over alamoth</b> over those instruments with which they played those psalms, entitled: “To the conductor, on alamoth, etc.”</html>

<html><b>And Mattithiah and Eliphelehu, etc. with harps on the sheminith to conduct</b> those musical instruments upon which they play the psalms entitled: “For the conductor, on the sheminith.”</html>

<html><b>And Chenaniah, the leader of the Levites in song</b> In what was he a leader? In בַּמַּשָּׂא, in raising [the voice in]song. <b>he would chastise in song</b> He would chastise and reprove them concerning raising the voice in the melody of the song, whether to raise the voice or lower [it]. <b>because he was an expert</b> in raising [the voice] in the melody, and the expression of מֵבִין applies to the study of voice. A similar instance is found (below 25:7): “And their number with their brethren, trained in song to the Lord, every expert (מֵבִין) etc.,” and it is written (ibid. verse 8): “and they cast lots, etc.,…expert (מֵבִין) with student.”</html>

<html><b>And it came to pass when God helped the Levites</b> - Heb. בֶּעְֹזר. The “beth” of בֶּעְֹזר is vowelized with a “segol,” but as a rule, it is vowelized with a “pattah.” The meaning of “when [God] helped,” is that they did not err when they carried the Ark as they had erred in the beginning when Uzza died. And in the Book of Samuel (II 6:13), it says that when they had trodden six paces, they made this sacrifice. Our Rabbis derived from here that the Ark carried itself.</html>

<html><b>And David was enwrapped in a linen robe</b> - Heb. מְכֻרְבָּל enwrapped, as in Daniel (3:21): “their robes (וְכַרְבְּלָתְהוֹן).” A similar case is the comb (כַּרְבַּלְתָּא) of a rooster. <b>and all the Levites</b> were likewise enwrapped in linen robes, and since David was a singer like the Levites, he too wore their raiments, which they wore, and proof of this - to distinguish between the unclean and the clean: It was the custom of the heathen kings and princes, that when they would dine with their priests according to their custom, they would don the garb of their priests. <b>and on David was a linen ephod</b> like the ephod of Aaron, which was like two felt cloths, one in the front and one in the back, and it reached to his loins, and the girdle was woven from it, and he would gird himself with it.</html>

<html><b>And Michal the daughter of Saul, etc.</b> Since the Book of Chronicles is for David’s honor, it does not write here what Michal said to David, as is written in Samuel (II 6:20): “How esteemed was the king of Israel today, who appeared today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the idlers would appear!” because it was a disgrace for David that a woman said that to him.