David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem
1Again David brought together the best soldiers in Israel. The total number was 30,000. 2He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah. They wanted to bring the ark of God up to Jerusalem from there. The ark is named after the Lord. He is the Lord who rules over all. He sits on his throne between the cherubim that are on the ark. 3The ark of God was placed on a new cart. Then it was brought from Abinadab’s house, which was on a hill. Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart. They were the sons of Abinadab. 4The ark of God was on the cart. Ahio was walking in front of it. 5David was celebrating with all his might in front of the Lord. So was the whole community of Israel. All of them were playing castanets, harps, lyres, tambourines, rattles and cymbals.
6They came to the threshing floor of Nakon. The oxen nearly fell there. So Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God. 7Then the Lord was very angry with Uzzah. That’s because what Uzzah did showed that he didn’t have any respect for the Lord. So God struck him down. He died there beside the ark of God.
8David was angry because the Lord’s great anger had broken out against Uzzah. That’s why the place is still called Perez Uzzah to this day.
9David was afraid of the Lord that day. He asked, “How can the ark of the Lord ever be brought to me?” 10He didn’t want to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom. Obed-Edom was from Gath. 11The ark of the Lord remained in Obed-Edom’s house for three months. And the Lord blessed him and his whole family.
12King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the family of Obed-Edom. He has also blessed everything that belongs to him. That’s because the ark of God is in Obed-Edom’s house.” So David went down there to bring up the ark. With great joy he brought it up from the house of Obed-Edom. He took it to the City of David. 13Those carrying the ark of the Lord took six steps forward. Then David sacrificed a bull and a fat calf. 14David was wearing a sacred linen apron. He danced in front of the Lord with all his might. 15He did it while he was bringing up the ark of the Lord. The whole community of Israel helped him bring it up. They shouted. They blew trumpets.
16The ark of the Lord was brought into the City of David. Saul’s daughter Michal was watching from a window. She saw King David leaping and dancing in front of the Lord. That made her hate him in her heart.
17The ark of the Lord was brought into Jerusalem. It was put in its place in the tent David had set up for it. David sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings to the Lord. 18After he finished sacrificing those offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord who rules over all. 19He gave to each Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread. He also gave each one a date cake and a raisin cake. Then all the people went home.
20David returned home to bless his family. Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. She said, “You are the king of Israel. You have really brought honor to yourself today, haven’t you? You have gone around half-naked right in front of the female slaves of your officials. You acted like a fool!”
21David said to Michal, “I did it to honor the Lord. He chose me instead of your father or anyone else in Saul’s family. The Lord appointed me ruler over his people Israel. I will celebrate to honor the Lord. 22And that’s not all. I will bring even less honor to myself. I will bring even more shame on myself. But those female slaves you spoke about will honor me.”
23Saul’s daughter Michal didn’t have any children as long as she lived.
A arca é trazida para Jerusalém
(1 Cr 15.1-29)
1David mobilizou 30 000 dos melhores soldados de Israel. 2E foram juntos até Baalá de Judá, a fim de trazer de volta a arca de Deus que está consagrada ao Senhor dos exércitos, cujo trono está acima dos querubins. 3-4A arca foi colocada sobre um carro novo e levada da casa de Abinadabe, que ficava numa colina. Era conduzida pelos filhos deste último, Uzá e Aiô. Aiô ia à frente. 5Era seguido por David e pelos outros líderes de Israel que agitavam alegremente ramos de faia, na presença do Senhor, e tocavam liras, harpas, tamborins, pandeiretas e címbalos.
6No entanto, quando chegaram à eira de Nacom, os bois tropeçaram e Uzá estendeu o braço para segurar a arca. 7A ira do Senhor acendeu-se contra ele e Deus matou-o por causa do seu gesto. E ficou ali estendido ao lado da arca de Deus. 8David ficou muito contristado por causa do que o Senhor fizera e deu àquele lugar o nome Perez-Uzá (brecha de Uzá). Ainda hoje é assim chamado.
9O rei ficou com medo do Senhor e interrogava-se: “Como poderei trazer a arca do Senhor até mim?” 10Por isso, resolveu não transportá-la para a Cidade de David, mas levá-la antes para a casa de Obede-Edom, originário de Gate. 11Esta ficou ali por três meses e o Senhor abençoou a Obede-Edom e a toda a sua casa e família.
12Quando o rei soube que o Senhor tinha abençoado Obede-Edom, toda a sua família e bens, por causa da arca de Deus, decidiu ir à casa de Obede-Edom e ordenou que transportassem a arca de Deus com grande alegria para a Cidade de David. 13A cada seis passos que os transportadores da arca davam, paravam e esperavam que se oferecesse o sacrifício de um boi e de um bezerro cevado. 14David dançava perante o Senhor com toda a exuberância, vestido com a veste sacerdotal6.14 No hebraico, éfode de linho. Peça de vestuário habitualmente usada pelos sacerdotes, aqui provavelmente usada por devoção.. 15Foi dessa maneira que Israel trouxe para o seu local próprio a arca do Senhor. Tudo isto acompanhado de brados de júbilo e toques de trombetas.
16Quando a arca do Senhor se aproximou da Cidade de David, Mical, a filha de Saul, que estava observando da janela, viu David a saltar e a dançar na presença do Senhor e desprezou-o no seu íntimo.
17Puseram pois a arca do Senhor numa tenda, no lugar que David tinha preparado. Depois David ofereceu holocaustos e ofertas de paz ao Senhor. 18No final destas ofertas David abençoou o povo em nome do Senhor dos exércitos. 19Distribuiu por cada um, homens e mulheres, um pão, um bolo de tâmaras e um bolo de uvas. Quando tudo terminou todos se retiraram.
20David regressou a casa para abençoar a sua família. No entanto, Mical veio ao seu encontro e exclamou com um tom irónico: “Que ar glorioso tinha hoje o rei de Israel, expondo-se aos olhos das raparigas, ao longo das ruas, como um vadio qualquer!”
21David respondeu-lhe: “Estive a dançar diante do Senhor, que me escolheu em lugar do teu pai e da tua família, e me nomeou chefe de Israel, o povo do Senhor! 22Não me importo de me humilhar mais e rebaixar, como tu dizes, pois sei que mesmo assim serei respeitado pelas raparigas a quem te referias!”
23E Mical não teve filhos durante toda a sua vida.
