And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?
Parallel translations
- WEB David was afraid of Yahweh that day; and he said, “How could Yahweh’s ark come to me?”
- BSB That day David feared the LORD and asked, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?”
- NKJV David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”
- NASB So David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”
- NLT David was now afraid of the Lord, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?”
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
David's anger turned to fear, and he wondered how he could safely bring the ark to himself. Holy reverence rightly replaces casual presumption.
Overview
The fear of the LORD here is not mere terror but a dawning recognition of God's awesome holiness. David's question echoes the men of Beth Shemesh after a similar judgment (1 Samuel 6:20): how can sinful people host the presence of a holy God? The answer the Bible ultimately gives is found in a mediator, fulfilled in Christ who makes God's presence dwelling with His people a blessing rather than a danger.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 119:120My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.
- 1 Chr 13:11–12And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called Perezuzza to this day.
- 1 Sam 6:20And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
- 1 Kgs 8:27But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
- Num 17:12–13And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.
- 1 Sam 5:10–11Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
- Job 25:5–6Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
- Isa 6:5Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
- Luke 5:8–9When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
- 1 Pet 3:6Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 6:9 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.