And when they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled.
Parallel translations
- WEB When they came to Chidon’s threshing floor, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.
- KJV And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.
- BSB When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark, because the oxen had stumbled.
- NASB When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly overturned it.
- NLT But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
At the threshing floor the oxen stumbled, and Uzza reached out to steady the ark. His instinctive act touched what God had forbidden anyone to touch.
Overview
When the oxen stumbled, Uzza put out his hand to keep the ark from falling, a seemingly natural and protective reaction. But the Law strictly forbade touching the ark, on pain of death (Numbers 4:15). The moment exposes the danger of the cart method itself; had the ark been carried properly by poles, this crisis would never have arisen. Human means meant to safeguard the holy thing led to disaster.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- 2 Sam 6:6When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached for God’s ark, and took hold of it; for the cattle stumbled.
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