1 Chronicles 21
1 And Satan stoode vp against Israel, and prouoked Dauid to nomber Israel.
Satan decided to cause the Israeli people to have trouble. So he incited David to find out how many men in Israel [were able to be in the army].
2 Therefore Dauid said to Ioab, and to the rulers of the people, Go, and nomber Israel from Beer-sheba euen to Dan, and bring it to me, that I may knowe the nomber of them.
So David commanded Joab and the other army commanders, “Count all the men in Israel [who are able to be in the army]. Start at Beersheba [town in the south] and go all the way to Dan [city in the north]. Then come back and report to me, in order that I may know how many men there are.”
3 And Ioab answered, The Lord increase his people an hundreth times so many as they be, O my lord the King: are they not all my lords seruats? wherefore doeth my lord require this thing? why should he be a cause of trespasse to Israel?
But Joab replied, “Your majesty, even if Yahweh allowed us to have 100 times as many soldiers as we have now, you would [RHQ] still rule all of them. So why do you want us to do this? You will surely [RHQ] cause [all the people of] Israel to be guilty of sinning.”
4 Neuerthelesse the Kings word preuailed against Ioab. And Ioab departed and went thorowe all Israel, and returned to Ierusalem.
But David would not change his mind. So Joab [and his soldiers] went everywhere in Israel and in Judah, and counted the people. Then they returned to Jerusalem,
5 And Ioab gaue the nomber and summe of the people vnto Dauid: and all Israel were eleuen hundreth thousande men that drewe sword: and Iudah was foure hundreth and seuentie thousande men that drewe sword.
and they reported to David that there were 1,100,000 men in Israel who could be in the army, and 470,000 in Judah.
6 But the Leuites and Beniamin counted he not among them: for the Kings worde was abominable to Ioab.
Joab did not count the men from the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he was disgusted with what the king had commanded.
7 And God was displeased with this thing: therefore he smote Israel.
David’s command to count the people caused God to become angry, so he [told David that he had decided to] punish [the people of] Israel.
8 Then Dauid saide vnto God, I haue sinned greatly, because I haue done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, remooue the iniquitie of thy seruant: for I haue done very foolishly.
Then David prayed, saying, “Yahweh, what I did was very foolish. I have sinned greatly by what I have done. So now I plead with you, please forgive me.”
9 And the Lord spake vnto Gad Dauids Seer, saying,
Then Yahweh said to Gad, David’s prophet,
10 Goe and tell Dauid, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three thinges: choose thee one of them, that I may doe it vnto thee.
“Go and tell this to David: I am allowing you to choose one of three things [to punish you]. I will do whichever one you choose.”
11 So Gad came to Dauid, and sayde vnto him, Thus saith the Lord, Take to thee
So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You can choose one of these [punishments]:
12 Either three yeeres famine, or three moneths to be destroyed before thine aduersaries, and the sworde of thine enemies to take thee, or els the sworde of the Lord and pestilence in the lande three dayes, that the Angel of the Lord may destroy throughout all the coastes of Israel: nowe therefore aduise thee, what word I shall bring againe to him that sent me.
three years of famine [in Israel], or three months during which your armies will run away from their enemies [who will attack them with] swords, or three days during which I will send my angel to cause many people in the country to die because of a (plague/very serious illness).’ So, you must decide what I will say to answer [Yahweh, ] the one who sent me.”
13 And Dauid said vnto Gad, I am in a wonderfull strait. let me nowe fall into the hande of the Lord: for his mercies are exceeding great, and let me not fall into the hande of man.
David replied to Gad, “I am very distressed. But allow Yahweh to punish [MTY] me, because he is very merciful. Do not allow humans to punish me, [because they will not be merciful].”
14 So the Lord sent a pestilence in Israel, and there fell of Israel seuentie thousande men.
So Yahweh sent a plague on [the people of] Israel, and 70,000 of them died because of it.
15 And God sent the Angel into Ierusalem to destroy it. And as he was destroying, the Lord behelde, and repented of the euill and sayde to the Angel that destroyed, It is nowe ynough, let thine hande cease. Then the Angel of the Lord stoode by the thresshing floore of Ornan the Iebusite.
And God sent an angel to destroy the people in Jerusalem by the plague. But when the angel was standing at the ground where Araunah, from the Jebus people-group, threshed grain, Yahweh saw all the suffering that the people had endured, and he was grieved. So he said to the angel, “Stop what you are doing [IDM]! That is enough [IDM]!”
16 And Dauid lift vp his eyes, and sawe the Angel of the Lord stande betweene the earth and the heauen with his sworde drawen in his hand, and stretched out towarde Ierusalem. Then Dauid and the Elders of Israel, which were clothed in sacke, fell vpon their faces.
David looked up and saw the angel whom Yahweh had sent, standing between the sky and the ground. The angel had a sword in his hand that was pointed toward Jerusalem. Then David and the elders [of the city], who were wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, prostrated themselves on the ground.
17 And Dauid said vnto God, Is it not I that commanded to nomber the people? It is euen I that haue sinned and haue committed euil, but these sheepe what haue they done? O Lord my God, I beseech thee, let thine hande be on me and on my fathers house, and not on thy people for their destruction.
David said to God, “I am [RHQ] the one who ordered the men who could be in the army to be counted. I am the one who has sinned and done what is very wrong, but these people are [as innocent as] [MET] sheep. They have certainly not [RHQ] done anything [that is wrong]. So Yahweh my God, punish [IDM] me and my family, but do not allow this plague to continue to [cause] your people [to become sick and die].”
18 Then the Angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to Dauid, that Dauid should goe vp, and set vp an altar vnto the Lord in the thresshing floore of Ornan the Iebusite.
Then the angel who was sent by Yahweh told Gad to go up to the place where Araunah threshed grain and tell David to build an altar to [worship] Yahweh there.
19 So Dauid went vp according to the saying of Gad, which he had spoken in the Name of the Lord.
So [after Gad told] David, [he] obeyed the message that Yahweh [MTY] had given to Gad, [and he went up there].
20 And Ornan turned about, and sawe the Angel, and his foure sonnes, that were with him, hid them selues, and Ornan thresshed wheat.
While Araunah was threshing some wheat, he turned and saw the angel. His four sons who were with him [also saw the angel, and they] hid themselves.
21 And as Dauid came to Ornan, Ornan looked and sawe Dauid, and went out of the thresshing floore, and bowed himselfe to Dauid with his face to the grounde.
Then David approached. When Araunah saw him, he left the place where he was threshing grain and prostrated himself, with his face touching the ground.
22 And Dauid saide to Ornan, Giue me the place of thy thresshing floore, that I may builde an altar therein vnto the Lord: giue it me for sufficient money, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
David said to him, “Please sell me your threshing place in order that I can build an altar here to [worship] Yahweh. Then he will stop this plague. I will pay the full price.”
23 Then Ornan saide vnto Dauid, Take it to thee, and let my lord the King do that which seemeth him good: loe, I giue thee bullockes for burnt offrings, and thresshing instruments for wood, and wheat for meate offring, I giue it all.
Araunah replied, “Take it! Your majesty, do whatever you want to. I will give you the oxen [that thresh the grain] for an offering to be completely burned [on the altar]. And I will give you the threshing boards to use as wood [on the altar], and I will give you grain for a grain offering. I will give all those things to you.”
24 And King Dauid saide to Ornan, Not so: but I will bye it for sufficient money: for I wil not take that which is thine for the Lord, nor offer burnt offrings without cost.
But the king said to Araunah, “No, [I will not take these things as a gift]. I will pay you the full price for it. I will not take things that belong to you, things that have cost me nothing and offer them as sacrifices to Yahweh to be completely burned on the altar.”
25 So Dauid gaue to Ornan for that place sixe hundreth shekels of golde by weight.
So David paid Araunah 600 pieces of gold for the whole area.
26 And Dauid built there an altar vnto the Lord, and offred burnt offrings, and peace offrings, and called vpon the Lord, and he answered him by fire from heauen vpon the altar of burnt offring.
David built an altar to [worship] Yahweh there, and he offered sacrifices to be completely burned [on the altar] and sacrifices to restore fellowship [with Yahweh]. David prayed to Yahweh, and Yahweh answered by sending a fire from heaven [to burn up the offerings] on the altar.
27 And when the Lord had spoken to the Angel, he put vp his sworde againe into his sheath.
Then Yahweh spoke to the angel, and told him to put his sword back into its sheath. [So the angel did that].
28 At that time when Dauid sawe that the Lord had heard him in the thresshing floore of Ornan the Iebusite, then he sacrificed there.
And when David saw that Yahweh had answered him there at the place where Araunah threshed grain [and had ended the plague], he offered sacrifices there.
29 (But the Tabernacle of the Lord which Moses had made in the wildernesse, and the altar of burnt offring were at that season in the hie place at Gibeon.
Yahweh’s Sacred Tent, which Moses had commanded to be set up in the desert, and the altar for burning sacrifices completely, were at that time on a hill at Gibeon [city].
30 And Dauid could not go before it to aske counsel at God: for he was afraide of the sworde of the Angel of the Lord.)
But David did not want to go there to request God to tell him what he wanted [him to do], because he was afraid that the angel sent from Yahweh [might strike him with] his sword.
