Then all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites picked up the ark.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the elders of Israel came. The Levites took up the ark;
- KJV And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.
- BSB When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark,
- NKJV So all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.
- NLT When all the elders of Israel arrived, the Levites 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 of Israel had come, the Levites took up the ark. The ark was carried by those God had appointed for that sacred task.
Overview
The Levites, set apart to handle the holy things, lifted the ark as the law required, in contrast to the earlier mishandling that brought judgment in David's day. This careful obedience honored God's holiness and order. It models the reverence God's people owe him, approaching his presence on his terms rather than their own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Kgs 8:3All the elders of Israel came, and the priests picked up the ark.
- Josh 3:6Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and cross over before the people.” They took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
- Josh 6:6Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Yahweh’s ark.”
- 1 Chr 15:2Then David said, “No one ought to carry God’s ark but the Levites. For Yahweh has chosen them to carry God’s ark, and to minister to him forever.”
- 2 Chr 5:7The priests brought in the ark of Yahweh’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.
- Num 4:15“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting.
- 1 Chr 15:12–14and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves, both you and your brothers, that you may bring the ark of Yahweh, the God of Israel, up to the place that I have prepared for it.
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Christ at the center
Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 5:4 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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