And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh’s anger burned against Uzzah; and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by God’s ark.
- KJV And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
- BSB And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.
- NKJV Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.
- NLT Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God.
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
God struck Uzzah dead for touching the ark, a severe judgment on irreverence toward the holy. It warns that even sincere people must approach God in the way He commands.
Overview
The ark represented God's enthroned presence, and the Law forbade touching it on pain of death (Numbers 4:15). Uzzah's act, however natural, treated the holy as if it needed human steadying, reflecting the same careless familiarity that had let the ark be carted like Philistine cargo. The episode underscores that God is holy and must be approached on His terms; it points ahead to Christ, through whom alone sinners may draw near to a holy God (Hebrews 10:19-22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Sam 6:19He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into Yahweh’s ark, he struck fifty thousand seventy of the men. Then the people mourned, because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter.
- 1 Chr 15:13For because you didn’t carry it at first, Yahweh our God broke out in anger against us, because we didn’t seek him according to the ordinance.”
- 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.”
- 1 Chr 13:10Yahweh’s anger burned against Uzza, and he struck him, because he put his hand on the ark; and he died there before God.
- Lev 10:1–3Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them.
- 1 Cor 11:30–32For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 6:7 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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