Kings II 24

1 And the Lord caused his anger to burn forth again in Israel, and [Satan] stirred up David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Juda.

Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

2 And the king said to Joab commander of the host, who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel and Juda, from Dan even to Bersabee, and number the people, and I will know the number of the people.

So the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him, “Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”

3 And Joab said to the king, Now may the Lord add to the people a hundred-fold as many as they are, and [may] the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why does my lord the king desire this thing?

But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

4 Nevertheless the word of the king prevailed against Joab an the captains of the host: And Joab and the captains of the host went out before the king to number the people of Israel.

Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army departed from the presence of the king to count the troops of Israel.

5 And they went over Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right of the city which is in the midst of the valley of Gad and Eliezer.

They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.

6 And they came to Galaad, and into the land of Thabason, which is Adasai, and they came to Danidan and Udan, and compassed Sidon.

Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.

7 And they came to Mapsar of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Evite and the Chananite: and they came by the South of Juda to Bersabee.

They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.

8 And they compassed the whole land; and they arrived at Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

At the end of nine months and twenty days, having gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem.

9 And Joab gave in the number of the census of the people to the king: and Israel consisted of eight hundred thousand men of might that drew sword; and the men of Juda, five hundred thousand fighting men.

And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.

10 And the heart of David smote him after he had numbered the people; and David said to the Lord, I have sinned grievously, O Lord, [in] what I have now done: remove, I pray thee, the iniquity of thy servant, for I have been exceedingly foolish.

After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

11 And David rose early in the morning, and the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, the seer, saying, Go, and speak to David, saying,

When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:

12 Thus saith the Lord, I bring [one of] three things upon thee: now choose thee one of them, and I will do [it] to thee.

“Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”

13 And Gad went in to David, and told him, and said to him, Choose [one of these things] to befall thee, whether there shall come upon thee [for] three years famine in thy land; or that thou shouldest flee three months before thine enemies, and they should pursue thee; or that there should be [for] three days mortality in thy land. Now then decide, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

So Gad went and said to David, “Do you choose to endure three years of famine in your land, three months of fleeing the pursuit of your enemies, or three days of plague upon your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”

14 And David said to Gad, On every side I am much straitened: let me fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his compassions [are] very many; and let me not fall into the hands of man.

David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

15 So David chose for himself the mortality: and [they were] the days of wheat-harvest; and the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from morning till noon, and the plague began among the people; and there died of the people from Dan even to Bersabee seventy thousand men.

So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.

16 And the angel of the Lord stretched out his hand against Jerusalem to destroy it, and the Lord repented of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, [It is] enough now, withhold thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite.

But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 And David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel smiting the people, and he said, Behold, it is I that have done wrong, but these sheep what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be upon me, and upon my father's house.

When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “Surely I, the shepherd, have sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand fall upon me and my father’s house.”

18 And Gad came to David in that day, and said to him, Go up, and set up to the Lord and altar in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite.

And that day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

19 And David went up according to the word of Gad, as the Lord commanded him.

So David went up at the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded.

20 And Orna looked out, and saw the king and his servants coming on before him: and Orna went forth, and did obeisance to the king with his face to the earth.

When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, he went out and bowed facedown before the king.

21 And Orna said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? and David said, To buy of thee the threshing-floor, in order to build an altar to the Lord that the plague may be restrained from off the people.

“Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said. “To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

22 And Orna said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer to the Lord that which is good in his eyes: behold, [here are] oxen for a whole-burnt-offering, and the wheels and furniture of the oxen for wood.

Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever seems good and offer it up. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.

23 Orna gave all to the king: and Orna said to the king, The Lord thy God bless thee.

O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”

24 And the king said to Orna, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a fair price, and I will not offer to the Lord my God a whole-burnt-offering for nothing. So David purchased the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

25 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings: and Solomon made an addition to the altar afterwards, for it was little at first. And the Lord hearkened to the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.