1 Chronicles 15 is the chapter where David finally brings the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, assembling the Levites by clan, appointing singers with instruments, and carrying the ark on poles as Moses commanded.

Full sung version coming soon.

Lyrics

David made himself houses in David’s city And he prepared a place for God’s ark And pitched a tent for it

Then David said, No one ought to carry God’s ark But the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them To carry God’s ark, and to minister to him forever David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem To bring up the Lord’s ark to its place

David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites Of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and his brothers One hundred and twenty Of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and his brothers Two hundred and twenty

Of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief Of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief Of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief Of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief

David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests And for the Levites, to sanctify yourselves You and your brothers, that you may bring the ark Of the Lord, the God of Israel, up to the place

For because you didn’t carry it at first The Lord our God broke out in anger against us Because we didn’t seek him according to the ordinance So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves

To bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel The children of the Levites bore God’s ark On their shoulders with its poles, as Moses commanded According to the Lord’s word

David spoke to the chief of the Levites To appoint their brothers as singers with instruments of music Stringed instruments, harps, and cymbals Sounding aloud and lifting up their voices with joy So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel

Asaph the son of Berechiah, and Ethan the son of Kushaiah The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan Were given cymbals of bronze to sound aloud The procession prepared, the way made holy

The ark shall be brought home The Lord’s presence returns Jerusalem receives its God The covenant comes home

Listen

1 Chronicles 15 sung by Psalm Selah. The whole Bible, one chapter at a time.

Published 2026-05-22 · Last updated 2026-06-06
Written by Reid Wender, Editorial Director at Psalmody Press