1 Chronicles 21
1 Now Satan, designing evil against Israel, put into David's mind the impulse to take the number of Israel.
Then the accuser stood up, against Israel, —and moved David, to number Israel.
2 And 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.
And David said unto Joab and unto the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel, from Beer-sheba even unto Dan, —and bring [the report] unto me, that I may know the number of them.
3 And 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?
Then said Joab, May Yahweh add unto his people, as many as they are, a hundred times, but are they not, my lord O king, all of them my lord’s, as servants? wherefore should my lord seek this? wherefore should it become guilt to Israel?
4 But the king's word was stronger than Joab's. So Joab went out and went through all Israel and came to Jerusalem.
But, the word of the king, prevailed against Joab, —and Joab departed, and went to and fro throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
5 And 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.
And Joab delivered the sum of the number of the people, unto David, —and all Israel was found to be a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men, who drew sword, and Judah, four hundred and seventy thousand men, who drew sword.
6 But Levi and Benjamin were not numbered among them, for Joab was disgusted with the king's order.
But, Levi and Benjamin, counted he not among them, —for detestable was the word of the king unto Joab.
7 And God was not pleased with this thing; so he sent punishment on Israel.
And it was displeasing in the eyes of God, concerning this thing, —therefore smote he Israel.
8 Then 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.
And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing, —but, now, I beseech thee, take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have shown myself very foolish.
9 Then the word of the Lord came to Gad, David's seer, saying,
Then spake Yahweh unto Gad, the seer of David saying:
10 Go 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.
Go—and thou shalt speak unto David, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, Three things, do I offer thee, —choose thee one from among them, that I may do it unto thee.
11 So Gad came to David and said to him, The Lord says, Take whichever you will:
So Gad came unto David, —and said to him, Thus, saith Yahweh,
12 Three 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.
Choose thee: —Whether, for three years, [there be] famine, Or, for three months, that thou flee before thine adversaries, while the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee, Or, for three days, the sword of Yahweh, and pestilence be in the land, with, the messenger of Yahweh, laying waste throughout all the boundary of Israel, —Now, therefore, see, what, answer, I shall return unto him that sent me.
13 And 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.
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait, —Oh let me fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Yahweh, for abounding are his compassions, exceedingly, but, into the hand of man, let me not fall.
14 So the Lord sent disease on Israel, causing the death of seventy thousand men.
So Yahweh laid pestilence, upon Israel, —and there fell, of Israel, seventy thousand men.
15 And 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.
And God sent a messenger to Jerusalem, to lay it waste, but, as he was laying it waste, Yahweh looked, and relented concerning the calamity, and said unto the messenger who was laying waste, Enough! now, stay thy hand. And, the messenger of Yahweh, was standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 And 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.
And, when David lifted up his eyes, and saw the messenger of Yahweh, standing, between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn, in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem, then fell David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, upon their faces.
17 And 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.
And David said unto God, Was it not, I, who gave word to number the people? Yea, I, it was who sinned and did the great wrong, what then had, these sheep, done? O Yahweh, my God, let thy hand, I beseech thee, be against me, and against the house of my father, but not against, thy people, that they should be plagued!
18 Then 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.
And, the messenger of Yahweh, commanded Gad, to say unto David, —that David should go up, to rear an altar unto Yahweh, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 And David went up, as Gad had said in the name of the Lord.
So David went up, according to the word of Gad, which he spake in the name of Yahweh.
20 And 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.
And Ornan turned, and saw the messenger, but, his four sons with him, were hiding themselves, —now, Ornan, had been threshing wheat.
21 And 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.
Then came David unto Ornan, —and Ornan looked, and saw David, and went forth out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself unto David, with his face to the ground.
22 Then 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.
And David said unto Ornan, Grant me the place of the threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar, unto Yahweh, —for silver in full, shalt thou grant it me, that the plague may be stayed from off the people.
23 And 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.
And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do what is good in his own eyes, —see! I have given the oxen for ascending-sacrifices, and, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for a meal-offering, —the whole, have I given.
24 And 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.
Then said King David to Ornan, Nay! but I will, surely buy, it for silver in full, —for I will not take that which is thine for Yahweh, nor offer an ascending-sacrifice that hath cost me nothing.
25 So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.
So David gave to Ornan, for the place, —shekels of gold, by weight, six hundred.
26 And 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.
And David built there an altar unto Yahweh, and caused to go up ascending-sacrifices, and peace-offerings, —and called unto Yahweh, and he responded to him, by fire, out of the heavens, upon the altar of ascending-sacrifice.
27 Then the Lord gave orders to the angel, and he put back his sword into its cover.
And Yahweh gave word to tile messenger, and he put back his sword into its sheath.
28 At 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.
At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.
29 For 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.
But, the habitation of Yahweh, which Moses made in the desert, and the altar of ascending-sacrifice, were, at that time, in the high place at Gibeon;
30 But 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.
and David could not go before it, to seek God, —for he had been terrified, because of the sword of the messenger of Yahweh.
