Nothing was in the ark, only the two tables of stone which Moses put there in Horeb, when Jehovah cut a covenant with the sons of Israel as they went out of the land of Egypt.
And they brought out the son of the king, and put the crown on him, and the testimony, and made him to reign; and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and cried, Let the king live!
And you shall put it in front of the veil which is beside the ark of the testimony; in front of the mercy seat which is over the testimony, there where I meet you.
And he shall put the incense on the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of the incense shall cover the mercy seat on the testimony; and he shall not die.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak to your brother Aaron, and he shall not come in at all times to the sanctuary within the veil, to the front of the mercy seat.
And when Moses went into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from the mercy seat which is on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubs; and He spoke to him.