¹² Now King David^(A) was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. ¹³ When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed^(B) a bull and a fattened calf. ¹⁴ Wearing a linen ephod,^(C) David was dancing^(D) before the Lord with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts^(E) and the sound of trumpets.^(F)

¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David,^(G) Michal^(H) daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it,^(I) and David sacrificed burnt offerings^(J) and fellowship offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing^(K) the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed^(L) the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. ¹⁹ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins^(M) to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women.^(N) And all the people went to their homes.

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked^(O) in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed^(P) me ruler^(Q) over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

²³ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Psalm 47^[a]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.