2 Samuel 6:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

NIV: David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

NASB: Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of juniper wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

CSB: David and the whole house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all kinds of fir wood instruments, lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.

NLT: David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments — lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

KJV: And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.

NKJV: Then David and all the house of Israel played music before the Lord on all kinds of instruments of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.

During Saul's reign, the ark of the covenant travelled wherever Saul wanted it (1 Samuel 14:18). After capturing Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6–10), David resolves to give the ark a permanent home there. He consults the people, his military leaders, and God (1 Chronicles 13:1–4). His decision is to bring the ark from Baale-judah to a special tabernacle he's built in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1–4). For David and the people, this journey becomes an opportunity to worship and praise God with all their strength.

David clearly understands that God's presence rests on the ark of the covenant in a unique way. Being near the Lord stirs him to worship through music. This response reflects both God's desire for His people and David's own nature as a musician and songwriter.

This worship is not the calm, somber music we sometimes associate with church. David and the procession rejoice loudly before the Lord, playing instruments brought specifically for the occasion. They use lyres and harps—handheld stringed instruments—along with tambourines, cymbals, and castanets. This verse contains the only biblical use of the word translated "castanet" or "sistrum," likely a type of shaker or rattle. As they march toward Jerusalem, they worship with all their might, confident that their God is present with them and supports them in this moment.

David may have written Psalm 68 for this celebration:

our procession, God, has come into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring you gifts.
--Psalm 68:24–25, 29, ESV

In 2 Samuel 6:5–11, God judges and blesses. David has called a procession to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. When the ox cart that carries it wobbles, Uzzah reaches out to steady it, and God strikes him dead for profaning the sacred object. Angry and fearful, David leaves the ark at the home of Obed-edom. When David hears God has been blessing Obed-edom, David recalls the procession, the Levites hand-carry the ark as they should, and the religious and political capitals of Israel are closer to aligning (2 Samuel 6:12–15). This information is also found in 1 Chronicles 13:5–14.

In 2 Samuel 6, David decides to bring the ark of God (Exodus 25:10–22) to Jerusalem. This includes an enormous crowd and a great procession. Unfortunately, he doesn't follow the Mosaic law, and a man dies for inappropriately touching the ark. David leaves the ark at a house for three months before trying again. Moving the symbol of God's presence into the nation's capital delights everyone except David's first wife, Michal. She is disgusted by David's undignified enthusiasm. The same events are noted in 1 Chronicles 13 and 15.

David has established himself as king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5). In 2 Samuel 6, the ark of the covenant reaches Jerusalem. Since its first home in Shiloh, it's been captured by Philistines, sent back home, housed in Kiriath-jearim, carried with the army, and returned to Kiriath-jearim (Joshua 18:1; 1 Samuel 4, 6; 7:1–2; 14:18). David first puts the ark on a cart, but the cart wobbles and God strikes dead the man who tries to save it. Eventually, Levites carry the ark to Jerusalem properly. Soon, David decides that God deserves a proper temple and asks if he can build one (2 Samuel 7).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.