I Chronicles 21

¹Now Satan, designing evil against Israel, put into David's mind the impulse to take the number of Israel.

²And David said to Joab and the captains of the people, Now let all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, be numbered; and give me word so that I may be certain of their number.

³And Joab said, May the Lord make his people a hundred times more in number than they are; but, my lord king, are they not all my lord's servants? why would my lord have this done? why will he become a cause of sin to Israel?

⁴But the king's word was stronger than Joab's. So Joab went out and went through all Israel and came to Jerusalem.

⁵And Joab gave David the number of all the people; all the men of Israel, able to take up arms, were one million, one hundred thousand men; and those of Judah were four hundred and seventy thousand men, able to take up arms.

⁶But Levi and Benjamin were not numbered among them, for Joab was disgusted with the king's order.

⁷And God was not pleased with this thing; so he sent punishment on Israel.

⁸Then David said to God, Great has been my sin in doing this; but now, be pleased to take away the sin of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.

⁹Then the word of the Lord came to Gad, David's seer, saying,

¹⁰Go and say to David, The Lord says, Three things are offered to you: say which of them you will have, so that I may do it to you.

¹¹So Gad came to David and said to him, The Lord says, Take whichever you will:

¹²Three years when there will not be enough food; or three months of war, when you will go in flight before your haters, being in great danger of the sword; or three days of the sword of the Lord, disease in the land, and the angel of the Lord taking destruction through all the land of Israel. Now give thought to the answer I am to take back to him who sent me.

¹³And David said to Gad, This is a hard decision for me to make: let me come into the hands of the Lord, for great are his mercies: let me not come into the hands of men.

¹⁴So the Lord sent disease on Israel, causing the death of seventy thousand men.

¹⁵And God sent an angel to Jerusalem for its destruction: and when he was about to do so, the Lord saw, and had regret for the evil, and said to the angel of destruction, It is enough; do no more. Now the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶And David, lifting up his eyes, saw the angel of the Lord there between earth and heaven, with an uncovered sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the responsible men, clothed in haircloth, went down on their faces.

¹⁷And David said to God, Was it not I who gave the order for the people to be numbered? It is I who have done the sin and the great wrong; but these are only sheep; what have they done? let your hand, O Lord God, be lifted up against me and against my family, but not against your people to send disease on them.

¹⁸Then the angel of the Lord gave orders to Gad to say to David that he was to go and put up an altar to the Lord on the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁹And David went up, as Gad had said in the name of the Lord.

²⁰And Ornan, turning back, saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him went to a secret place. Now Ornan was crushing his grain.

²¹And when David came, Ornan, looking, saw him, and came out from the grain-floor and went down on his face to the earth before him.

²²Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place where this grain-floor is, so that I may put up an altar here to the Lord: let me have it for its full price; so that this disease may be stopped among the people.

²³And Ornan said to David, Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems right to him. See, I give you the oxen for burned offerings and the grain-cleaning instruments for fire-wood, and the grain for the meal offering; I give it all.

²⁴And King David said to Ornan, No; I will certainly give you the full price for it, because I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or give a burned offering without payment.

²⁵So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.

²⁶And David put up an altar there to the Lord, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings with prayers to the Lord; and he gave him an answer from heaven, sending fire on the altar of burned offering.

²⁷Then the Lord gave orders to the angel, and he put back his sword into its cover.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had given him an answer on the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he made an offering there.

²⁹For the House of the Lord, which Moses had made in the waste land, and the altar of burned offerings, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.

³⁰But David was not able to go before it to get directions from the Lord, so great was his fear of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

I Chronicles 21

¹Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.

²David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, "Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them."

³Joab said, "May the Lord make his people a hundred times as many as they are. But, my lord the king, aren't they all my lord's servants? Why does my lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of guilt to Israel?"

⁴Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.

⁵Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people to David. All those of Israel were one million one hundred thousand men who drew sword: and in Judah were four hundred seventy thousand men who drew sword.

⁶But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them; for the king's word was abominable to Joab.

⁷God was displeased with this thing; therefore he struck Israel.

⁸David said to God, "I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, put away, I beg you, the iniquity of your servant; for I have done very foolishly."

⁹The Lord spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying,

¹⁰"Go and speak to David, saying, 'Thus says the Lord, "I offer you three things. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you."'"

¹¹So Gad came to David, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Take your choice:

¹²either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.'"

¹³David said to Gad, "I am in distress. Let me fall, I pray, into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are very great. Let me not fall into the hand of man."

¹⁴So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel; and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.

¹⁵God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was about to destroy, the Lord saw, and he relented of the disaster, and said to the destroying angel, "It is enough; now stay your hand." The angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.

¹⁷David said to God, "Isn't it I who commanded the people to be numbered? It is even I who have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against your people, that they should be plagued."

¹⁸Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to tell David that David should go up, and raise an altar to the Lord in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁹David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the Lord.

²⁰Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.

²¹As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.

²²Then David said to Ornan, "Give me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build thereon an altar to the Lord. You shall sell it to me for the full price, that the plague may be stopped from afflicting the people."

²³Ornan said to David, "Take it for yourself, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes. Behold, I give the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal offering. I give it all."

²⁴King David said to Ornan, "No; but I will most certainly buy it for the full price. For I will not take that which is yours for the Lord, nor offer a burnt offering without cost."

²⁵So David gave to Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.

²⁶David built an altar to the Lord there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and he answered him from the sky by fire on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷The Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into its sheath.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.

²⁹For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.

³⁰But David couldn't go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.