1 Chronicles 15:13
in 1 Chronicles 15It was because you Levites were not with us the first time that the LORD our God burst forth in anger against us. For we did not consult Him about the proper order.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For because ye bare it not at the first, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not according to the ordinance.
KJV
For because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseFor because ye did it not at the first,.... Did not sanctify themselves, as the supplement in our version directs; but rather the sense is, ye were not there at first, when the ark was brought from Kirjathjearim as far as the house of Obededom, as they should have been; they were not then employed, as was their business, and therefore the Lord our God made a breach upon us; by smiting Uzzah with death, who was no Levite, and touched the ark, which is called his "error", and for which God smote him, 2Sa 6:7 on which place Lud.
This site's exposition
the LORD our God burst forth
It was because you Levites were not with us the first time that the LORD our God burst forth in anger against us. The commentators read the fault as the whole method, the cart and the absence of the Levites, before Uzzah put out his hand.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
"We did not go about our work considerately; and therefore we sped so ill." Note, It is not enough that we do that which is good, but we must do it well--not enough that we seek God in a due ordinance, but we must seek after him, in a due order.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The “due order” was that the ark should be borne on the shoulders of Kohathite Levites - not that it should be placed upon a cart, drawn by oxen, and rudely shaken.
LET me explain the events of which a summary is to be found in 2 Samuel 6., and 1 Chronicles 13:and 15:The ark of the covenant was a kind of chest made of shittim wood, and lined within and without with gold. Within this ark were preserved the tables of stone, which were received from heaven by Moses when he was upon the mount. There also lay the golden pot that had the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded.
LET me explain the events of which a summary is to be found in 2 Samuel 6., and 1 Chronicles 13:and 15:The ark of the covenant was a kind of chest made of shittim wood, and lined within and without with gold. Within this ark were preserved the tables of stone, which were received from heaven by Moses when he was upon the mount. There also lay the golden pot that had the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. Upon the lid of it were represented cherubic figures of angels; and between the wings of the cherubim, when the ark was at rest, there was seen that miraculously bright light, called the Shekinah, which was the token of the presence of the Most High God. The lid of the ark, as you will remember was called the mercy-seat. The whole ark was one of the most sacred things in the symbolic worship of the Jews because if they understood aright, it was to them the expression of God’s dwelling with them, for where that ark was, God specially rested. Its lid being called the mercy seat, was the representation of Jesus Christ who is our ark—the ark of the covenant in which God dwelt among men, and he is our mercy-seat by whom we have access to our Father, God. You will remember that after this ark was made in the wilderness, it was carefully kept in the secret place of the tabernacle, into which no man ever entered, except the high priest once in the year; and, then, not without blood. With his censor smoking, he made a thick cloud of incense, and then sprinkling the blood upon the mercy-seat, he ventured near to it—but not without blood. That ark when it was removed was covered over, so that no human eye should ever see it; and it was carried by golden staves upon the shoulders of the Levites. It was by the presence of this ark that Jordan was driven back, and an easy passage was made for the children of Israel, when they entered into Canaan.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For the first time not you ( ki le-ma-ba-rishonah lo attem ).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
To hakhinoti lo. This means: to the place asher hakhinoti lo (=that I have prepared for it).
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. 3 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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְמַבָּרִ֥אשׁוֹנָ֖ה | lemabarishonah | to what? at the first [time] | H4100 →H7223 → | 182 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אַתֶּ֑ם | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| פָּרַ֨ץ | paratz | he burst out | H6555 → | 49 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בָּ֔נוּ | banu | against us | ||
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| דְרַשְׁנֻ֖הוּ | derashnuhu | we sought him | H1875 → | 164 times |
| כַּמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃ | kamishpat | according to the ordinance | H4941 → | 422 times |
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לְמַבָּרִ֥אשׁוֹנָ֖הto what? at the first [time]
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אַתֶּ֑םyou
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
פָּרַ֨ץhe burst out
paratzH6555 →49 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֙ינוּ֙God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
בָּ֔נוּagainst us
banu
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
דְרַשְׁנֻ֖הוּwe sought him
derashnuhuH1875 →164 times
כַּמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃according to the ordinance
kamishpatH4941 →422 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 Corinthians 14:40But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner.
it leads to
- Colossians 2:5
For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.
- Titus 1:5
The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
- 1 Corinthians 14:26–33
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the…
- 1 Corinthians 11:34
If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.
- Romans 13:13
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
- Colossians 2:5
Through
1 Corinthians 11:2Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.
- 1 Corinthians 4:17
That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Through
2 Samuel 6:3They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 6:7
Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
- 1 Samuel 6:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About 1 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Sermon No. 307: “Importance of Small Things in Religion” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.