When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark,
Parallel translations
- WEB All the elders of Israel came, and the priests picked up the ark.
- KJV And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
- NKJV So all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
- NASB Then all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
- NLT When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up 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
When all the elders had come, the priests took up the ark. The sacred procession began under proper authority.
Overview
In keeping with God's law, the priests, not common hands, lifted the ark to carry it. This careful obedience recalled past lessons about handling the ark reverently. The orderly procession showed that approaching God's presence must follow His appointed way, a principle fulfilled in Christ, the one mediator through whom we draw near.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Josh 3:6And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
- Deut 31:9So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
- Num 4:15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.
- Josh 3:3and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it.
- Josh 4:9Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day.
- 1 Chr 15:2Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD has chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.”
- Josh 6:6So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”
- Josh 3:14–15So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
- Num 7:9But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.
- 2 Chr 5:5–8and they brought up the ark and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. The Levitical priests carried them up.
- 1 Chr 15:11–15David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 8:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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