As the ark of Yahweh’s covenant came to David’s city, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David dancing and playing; and she despised him in her heart.
Parallel Translations
-
As the ark of Yahweh’s covenant came to David’s city, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David dancing and playing; and she despised him in her heart.
-
And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.
-
And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw king David dancing and making merry; and she despised him in her heart.
Cross-references (25)
Passages linked to 1 Chronicles 15:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Samuel 6:20-23 Then David returned to bless his household. Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious the king of Israel was today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” David said to Michal, “It was before Yahweh, who chose me above your father, and above all his house, to appoint me prince over the people of Yahweh, over Israel. Therefore I will celebrate before Yahweh. I will be yet more vile than this, and will be worthless in my own sight. But the maids of whom you have spoken will honor me.” Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.
- 2 Samuel 6:16 As Yahweh’s ark came into David’s city, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out through the window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before Yahweh; and she despised him in her heart.
- Exodus 15:20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances.
- Numbers 10:33 They set forward from the Mount of Yahweh three days’ journey. The ark of Yahweh’s covenant went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them.
- Deuteronomy 31:26 “Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of Yahweh your God’s covenant, that it may be there for a witness against you.
- Judges 20:27 The children of Israel asked Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
- 1 Samuel 4:3 When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let’s get the ark of Yahweh’s covenant out of Shiloh and bring it to us, that it may come among us and save us out of the hand of our enemies.”
- 1 Samuel 18:27-28 David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife. Saul saw and knew that Yahweh was with David; and Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him.
- 1 Samuel 19:11-17 Saul sent messengers to David’s house, to watch him, and to kill him in the morning. Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you don’t save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” So Michal let David down through the window. He went away, fled, and escaped. Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes. When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” When the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’ ”
- 1 Samuel 25:44 Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
- 2 Samuel 3:13-14 He said, “Good. I will make a treaty with you, but one thing I require of you. That is, you will not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Deliver me my wife Michal, whom I was given to marry for one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.”
- Psalms 30:11 You have turned my mourning into dancing for me. You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness,
- Psalms 69:7-9 Because for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s children. For the zeal of your house consumes me. The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
- Psalms 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance! Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp!
- Psalms 150:4 Praise him with tambourine and dancing! Praise him with stringed instruments and flute!
- Ecclesiastes 3:4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
- Jeremiah 3:16 It will come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days,” says Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘the ark of Yahweh’s covenant!’ It will not come to mind. They won’t remember it. They won’t miss it, nor will another be made.
- Jeremiah 30:19 Thanksgiving will proceed out of them with the voice of those who make merry. I will multiply them, and they will not be few; I will also glorify them, and they will not be small.
- Jeremiah 33:11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever;’ who bring thanksgiving into Yahweh’s house. For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed as at the first,” says Yahweh.
- Acts 2:13 Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- 2 Corinthians 5:13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you.
- Hebrews 9:4 having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
- Joshua 4:7 then you shall tell them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of Yahweh’s covenant. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.’ ”
- 1 Chronicles 17:1 When David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of Yahweh’s covenant is in a tent.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain It was so called because it put the Israelites…
It was so called because it put the Israelites in remembrance of the Lord’s covenant made with them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. Michal - saw - David dancing -…
Verse 29. Michal - saw - David dancing - and she despised him] See this whole business explained 2Sa 6:20, &c., where David's conduct is vindicated, and the nature of Michal's disgrace and punishment hinted at, but all left to the reader's determination.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Heart, and reproached him for appearing without his regal…
Heart, and reproached him for appearing without his regal ornaments, (Haydock; 2 Kings vi. 20.) as if he had been naked. No reproach could have been more unfounded, as we see David had on a robe of byssus, with the ephod. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Michal . . . saw . . . David…
Michal . . . saw . . . David dancing and playing--His movements would be slow and solemn, suitable to the grave and solemn character of the music. Though his royal robes were laid aside, he was attired like the other officials, showing a becoming humility in the immediate presence of God. The feelings manifested by Michal were only an ebullition of spleen from a proud and passionate woman.
Next: 1 Chronicles Chapter 16
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. looking out at a window saw] R.V. looked…
29. looking out at a window saw] R.V. looked out at the window and saw.
playing] a synonym of dancing, obsolete in modern English. The closest rendering is perhaps, leaping as in sport. The unrestrained joyousness of this action might easily degenerate (as in idolatrous worship) into licence. The Chronicler omits to say that the dancing was “before the Lord” (2Sa_6:16). David’s subsequent interview with Michal (ib. 2Sa_6:20-23) is also passed over in Chron.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (29) And it came to pass.—The verse reads in…
(29) And it came to pass.—The verse reads in the Hebrew like a modernised form of 2Sa_6:16.
As the ark of the covenant of the Lord came.—Rather, The ark had come so far as to the city, and Michal had looked forth by the lattice, and she saw . . .
Read full note →
Dancing and playing.—In the Hebrew two common words have been substituted for the two obsolete ones occurring in Samuel.
Playing.—The Hebrew word denotes dancing combined with singing and playing (Jer_30:19; 1Sa_18:6-7).
She despised him.—Because he seemed forgetful of his royal and manly honour, in dancing like a woman.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Thus briefly is given by our compiler what occupies…
Thus briefly is given by our compiler what occupies five verses (2Sa_6:19, 2Sa_6:20-23) in the Book of Samuel. Neither of the words here rendered dancing and playing (but which would be better rendered "leaping and dancing") is the same with those employed in 2Sa_6:14, 2Sa_6:16, where our Authorized Version rendering is "dancing" and "leaping and dancing" respectively. The word in both of those verses that represents the dancing, does correctly so represent, bet is a somewhat generic form, as it carries the idea of dancing in a circle. The reason of Michal "despising David in her heart" can only be found in the unreason and the irreligion of that heart itself. She was a type of not a few, who despise devotion, enthusiasm, and above all practical liberality and generosity, on the part of any individual of their own family, when these are shown to Christ and his Church, and when they think they may be a trifle the poorer for it, or when they feel that the liberality and devotion of another exposes their own "poverty" in both these respects.
Intensity in religion is often misunderstood.
Read full note →
"One only incident tarnished the brightness of this greatest day of David"s life. Michal, his wife, in the proud, we may almost say conservative, spirit of the older dynasty not without a thought of her father"s fallen house poured forth her contemptuous reproach on the king who haddescended to the dances and song of the Levitical procession." There are marked differences in the dispositions of men in relation to religion. The colder-natured are apt to regard the impulsive as extravagant; and the warm-hearted and excitable too readily conclude that the quieter-toned people are insincere. Explain the Eastern ecstatic modes of expressing joy. In time of excitement, rhythmical movements, such as dancing, afford great relief. And such clanging of trumpet and cymbals was the very thing to set the company upon dancing. Distinguish the natural movements and gestures of excited feeling from the ordered fashionable dancing with which we are familiar. What lessons may be learned from Michal"s inability to appreciate David"s religious intensity?
I RELIGION FINDS DIFFERENT RESPONSE IN DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS. We must not look for the same experiences and manifestations in all. Each man"s religious conduct will bear the plain impress of his character and disposition. This may be applied to experiences of conversion-time, or the beginnings of the Christian life. As also to the forms in which men stand related to public worship and Christian work. If we venture to make moulds for the necessary Christian life, we must take care that they are large and general, with no fine lines of must-be peculiarities in them. Christ gives a new life, and sends each man forth to express it according to his own genius and character.
II RELIGION CAN FIND EXPRESSION THROUGH ALL DISPOSITIONS. So we may not, even in thought, exempt any man from its gracious influence; and we may not be anxious to have the natural dispositions of men changed. Men do not need to be made other than they are. The all-sufficing change is the inward regeneration, the renewal of the vital principle. We need not want to make the channel of the river bend and turn in any other and, as we think, more graceful forms. Our anxiety should concern the purity of the waters flowing down from the fountain-head, which fill the stream. Preservation of the characteristic disposition is, however, quite consistent with all due Christian culture, and this may sometimes so bring out to the front the best in men, that they may seem other than they were.
III CHRISTIAN CHARITY FINDS A FREE SPHERE FOR EVERY MAN. Just in this Michal failed. She had not charity enough to give David credit for the sincerity which would have clothed his act with dignity. A man"s ways may not be our ways, may not even be such as we can approve; but it should suffice for us if we can see in them the signs of genuine religious life and feeling. Then we may wish him "Godspeed.
Application of a practical character may be carefully made to those more enthusiastic and excited phases of religious life and association which are so marked a feature of nineteenth-century Christianity. From the calmer, colder point of view, such as Michal would take, there may seem in all these only a perilous fanaticism. The charity that "hopeth all things" may at least enable us to say, in the spirit of our Lord, "Forbid them not, for they that are not against him are on his part." And his kingdom has its oncoming in wondrous ways; no man knoweth how. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came…
as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came to the city of David
"as the people brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to the city of David"
Read full note →
Michal
This is the name of David's wife. (See: How to Translate Names)
she despised him in her heart
Here "heart" represents thoughts or emotions. AT: "she despised him" or "she hated him" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
city of David
Saul (OT)
king
heart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 15:29 The contempt of Michal (cp. 2 Sam 6:16-23)…
15:29 The contempt of Michal (cp. 2 Sam 6:16-23) toward David stands in stark contrast to God’s blessing on the celebration (1 Chr 15:26); her description as the daughter of Saul implies that her attitude mirrored her father’s disregard for the Lord (see 1 Sam 10:10-12; 13:7-14; 15:10-23; 28:1-25).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.