Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Chronicles 15:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13For 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The KJV phrase refers to the prescribed manner or rule for carrying the ark, not a blanket approval of every institutional custom. In 1 Chronicles 15:13, “due order” belongs to the complete movement “Priests and Levites sanctify themselves and carry by the word.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 15:3–15
Read 1 Chronicles 15:13 with 15:3–15. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the relationships and outcome summarized here: David assembles Israel, names Levitical houses, summons priests and chiefs, identifies the earlier breach as failure to seek due order, and the Levites carry the ark with poles.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Priests and Levites sanctify themselves and carry by the word,” 1 Chronicles 15:13 advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence through the wording “For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The resumed procession answers the earlier breach by assigning Levites, sanctifying carriers, and invoking the commanded shoulder-bearing order.
Read 1 Chronicles 15:3–15 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 15:3–15 forms the complete movement “Priests and Levites sanctify themselves and carry by the word”: David assembles Israel, names Levitical houses, summons priests and chiefs, identifies the earlier breach as failure to seek due order, and the Levites carry the ark with poles.
Verse 3. 3 And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it.
Verse 4. 4 And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:
Verse 5. 5 Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty:
Verse 6. 6 Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:
Verse 7. 7 Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief, and his brethren an hundred and thirty:
Verse 8. 8 Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred:
Verse 9. 9 Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren fourscore:
Verse 10. 10 Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.
Verse 11. 11 And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,
Verse 12. 12 And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.
Verse 13. 13 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.
Verse 14. 14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.
Verse 15. 15 And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD.
Follow the Context
- David assembles Israel, names Levitical houses, summons priests and chiefs, identifies the earlier breach as failure to seek due order, and the Levites carry the ark with poles.
- The narrative revisits the same goal with named responsibility, preparation, and explicit Torah alignment.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“due order”
In plain language: The KJV phrase refers to the prescribed manner or rule for carrying the ark, not a blanket approval of every institutional custom.
In 1 Chronicles 15:13, “due order” belongs to the complete movement “Priests and Levites sanctify themselves and carry by the word.”
Why it matters: This wording materially sharpens the passage-specific meaning or boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Chronicles 15:13 does not permit the wording “For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Due order does not excuse Uzza's death, authorize fear-based control, or mean every later institutional rule is divinely fixed.
What Remains True
Worship requires ordered, truthful, skilled, and accountable service, while sacred office, beauty, or scale never determines a person's worth. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: David assembles Israel, names Levitical houses, summons priests and chiefs, identifies the earlier breach as failure to seek due order, and the Levites carry the ark with poles. In 1 Chronicles 15:13, the concrete line “For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us….” In shared worship or institutional service, name every role, protect workers, use transparent assignments and finances, and refuse status systems that make inherited office equal superior worth. This response follows from the unit's own movement: David assembles Israel, names Levitical houses, summons priests and chiefs, identifies the earlier breach as failure to seek due order, and the Levites carry the ark with poles.
Teach It Back
Explain why 1 Chronicles 15:13 interprets the prior breach as failure to seek according to due order. Use 15:3–15, paraphrase “For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 15:3–15 — Priests and Levites sanctify themselves and carry by the wordSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Chronicles adds extensive Levitical organization to Samuel's account; the relationship between remembered Mosaic instruction, Davidic ordering, and later temple practice is historically debated.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 15:3–15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 15:3–15
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 15:3–15, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗