1 Chronicles — Chapter 15

Then David said: No one ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, whom the Lord hath chosen to carry it and to minister to Him for ever. Lapide: The proper order of sacred things demands that only those consecrated for the purpose handle the holy vessels. This was violated in the first translation (ch. 13) with fatal results.

Because you were not present before, the Lord our God struck us, for we did not seek Him in the prescribed manner. Lapide: \"Sanctify yourselves\" applies to the priests who could not touch the ark without first purifying themselves from all legal uncleanness; otherwise they would be struck like Oza.

And Chonenias the chief of the Levites was the leader of the prophecies, to give out the tunes: for he was very skilful. Lapide: \"Prophecy\" here means the directing of sacred song — the precentor leading the choir. The Levitical singers are called \"prophets\" because they sang divine praises under spiritual inspiration. Four interpretations are given; Lapide prefers that of the Septuagint: Chonenias was \"prince of elevation,\" i.e. he led the singing in the high part (like a countertenor), setting the melody for all others to follow.