1 Chronicles 13:12
in 1 Chronicles 13That day David feared God and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?
KJV
And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 13
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah--(See on 2Sa 6:1-11). whose name is called on it--rather, "who is worshipped there" (2Sa 6:2).
This site's exposition
David feared God and asked
on 1 Chronicles 13:12-14
That day David feared God and asked how he could bring the ark to him. He took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite, and it stayed there three months. The LORD blessed his household and everything he owned.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
5 So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjath-jearim. 6 And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjath-jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the L ORD , that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v5-6
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And David feared God, etc. saying What did he fear? Saying - that he said, “How will I bring the Ark of God to me?”
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
the Gittite He was from Gath originally and he previously sojourned in Gath. He was a Levite, as it is written (below:16): “And David said to the officers of the Levites to station their brethren, the singers,” and it says shortly after (verse 24): “..
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּירָ֤א | vaiyira' | and he feared | H3372 → | 315 times |
| דָוִיד֙ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בַּיּ֥וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֖וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֵ֚יךְ | heikh | how? | H1963 → | |
| אָבִ֣יא | ʾavi' | will I bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to myself | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲר֥וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיִּירָ֤אand he feared
vaiyira'H3372 →315 times
דָוִיד֙David
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
בַּיּ֥וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֖וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הֵ֚יךְhow?
heikhH1963 →
אָבִ֣יאwill I bring
ʾavi'H935 →2568 times
אֵלַ֔יto myself
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲר֥וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 8:27But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:1
This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- 2 Chronicles 2:6
But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as…
- Jeremiah 23:24
“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 6:18
But will God indeed dwell with man upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
- Acts 7:48–49
However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
- Isaiah 66:1
Through
Psalms 119:120My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
it leads to
- Daniel 10:8–11
So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
- Habakkuk 3:16
I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the…
- Hebrews 12:21
The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
- Daniel 10:8–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.