'Ark of the Lord' in the Bible

At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the Lord's covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings in his name, as they do to this very day.

Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord's covenant, and to all Israel's elders.

he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord's covenant,

When the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Ruler of the whole earth, touch the water of the Jordan, the water coming downstream toward you will stop flowing and pile up."

Joshua told them, "Go in front of the ark of the Lord your God to the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to put a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the Israelite tribes.

and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed as the people looked on.

So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and instructed them, "Pick up the ark of the covenant, and seven priests must carry seven rams' horns in front of the ark of the Lord."

And he told the army, "Move ahead and march around the city, with armed troops going ahead of the ark of the Lord."

So Joshua made sure they marched the ark of the Lord around the city one time. Then they went back to the camp and spent the night there.

Bright and early the next morning Joshua had the priests pick up the ark of the Lord.

The seven priests carrying the seven rams' horns before the ark of the Lord marched along blowing their horns. Armed troops marched ahead of them, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark of the Lord blowing rams' horns.

Joshua tore his clothes; he and the leaders of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening and threw dirt on their heads.

When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, "What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp.

When the residents of Ashdod got up early the next day, Dagon was lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place.

But when they got up early the following day, Dagon was again lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and his two hands were sheared off and were lying at the threshold. Only Dagon's body was left intact.

When the ark of the Lord had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months,

the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, "What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place."

Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a chest beside it the gold objects you are sending to him as a guilt offering. You should then send it on its way.

They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the chest, the gold mice, and the images of the sores.

The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord.

The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel, where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

But the Lord struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow.

So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down here and take it back home with you."

Then the people of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.

David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, "How will the ark of the Lord ever come to me?"

So David was no longer willing to bring the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. David left it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.

The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months. The Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his family.

Those who carried the ark of the Lord took six steps and then David sacrificed an ox and a fatling calf.

David and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord, shouting and blowing trumpets.

As the ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him.

They brought the ark of the Lord and put it in its place in the middle of the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before the Lord.

Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, and held a feast for all his servants.

Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem Israel's elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord's covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion).

The priests and Levites carried the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy items in the tent.

The priests brought the ark of the Lord's covenant to its assigned place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubs.

Then David said, "Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve before him perpetually.

David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring the ark of the Lord up to the place he had prepared for it.

He told them: "You are the leaders of the Levites' families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves and bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel up to the place I have prepared for it.

The priests and Levites consecrated themselves so they could bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

So David, the leaders of Israel, and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the Lord's covenant from the house of Obed-Edom with celebration.

When God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the Lord's covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

All Israel brought up the ark of the Lord's covenant; they were shouting, blowing trumpets, sounding cymbals, and playing stringed instruments.

As the ark of the Lord's covenant entered the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out the window. When she saw King David jumping and celebrating, she despised him.

He appointed some of the Levites to serve before the ark of the Lord, to offer prayers, songs of thanks, and hymns to the Lord God of Israel.

David left Asaph and his colleagues there before the ark of the Lord's covenant to serve before the ark regularly and fulfill each day's requirements,

When David had settled into his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Look, I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of the Lord's covenant is under a tent."

Now seek the Lord your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being! Get up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God! Then you can bring the ark of the Lord's covenant and the holy items dedicated to God's service into the temple that is built to honor the Lord."

King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I wanted to build a temple where the ark of the Lord's covenant could be placed as a footstool for our God. I have made the preparations for building it.

and for the refined gold of the incense altar. He gave him the blueprint for the seat of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and provide shelter for the ark of the Lord's covenant.

Solomon moved Pharaoh's daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, "My wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord has entered are holy."