1 Chronicles 21
1 And the Accuser stood up against Israel, and incited David to count Israel.
Now Satan, designing evil against Israel, put into David's mind the impulse to take the number of Israel.
2 And David said to Joab, and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba' even to Dan, and bring their number to me, that I may know it.
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.
3 Then said Joab, May the Lord add unto his people, how many soever they be, a hundred-fold more: are they not all, my lord the king, my lord's servants? why then will my lord require this thing? why shall it be a cause of guiltiness for Israel?
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?
4 Nevertheless the king's word remained firm against Joab; and Joab went out, and moved about throughout all Israel, and came [back] to Jerusalem.
But the king's word was stronger than Joab's. So Joab went out and went through all Israel and came to Jerusalem.
5 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto David: and there were [in] all Israel a thousand times thousand and one hundred thousand men that drew the sword: and [of] Judah were four hundred and seventy thousand men that drew the sword.
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.
6 But Levi and Benjamin did he not count among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
But Levi and Benjamin were not numbered among them, for Joab was disgusted with the king's order.
7 And this thing was displeasing in the eyes of God, and he smote Israel.
And God was not pleased with this thing; so he sent punishment on Israel.
8 And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I beseech thee, cause the iniquity of thy servant to pass away; for I have acted very foolishly.
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.
9 And the Lord spoke unto Gad, David's seer, saying,
Then the word of the Lord came to Gad, David's seer, saying,
10 Go and speak unto David, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, Three things do I offer thee: choose for thyself one of them, and I will do it unto thee.
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.
11 So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus hath said the Lord, Select for thyself,
So Gad came to David and said to him, The Lord says, Take whichever you will:
12 Whether there shall be three years famine; or three months, to be destroyed before thy adversaries, so that the sword of thy enemies overtake thee; or that during three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, shall be in the land, and an angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the boundaries of Israel? And now reflect what word I shall bring back to him that hath sent me.
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.
13 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall then into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are very great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.
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.
14 So the Lord sent a pestilence in Israel, and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
So the Lord sent disease on Israel, causing the death of seventy thousand men.
15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was destroying, the Lord looked on, and he bethought himself of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough: now stay thy hand. And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
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.
16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord standing between the earth and the heavens, with his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. Then fell David, with the elders wrapt in sackcloth, upon their faces.
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.
17 And David said unto God, Was it not I that ordered to count the people? and I am the one that have sinned and have done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house, but not against thy people, that there should be a plague.
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.
18 And the angel of the Lord spoke to Gad to say to David, that David should go up, to erect an altar unto the Lord on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
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.
19 And David went up by the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord.
And David went up, as Gad had said in the name of the Lord.
20 And when Ornan turned back, and saw the angel, then did he and his four sons with him hide themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
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.
21 And as David came up to Ornan, Ornan looked up and saw David; and he went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.
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.
22 Then said David to Ornan, “Grant me the site of this threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar unto the Lord: for the full price shalt thou give it unto me, so that the plague may be stayed from the people.”
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.
23 And Ornan said unto David, Take it for thyself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes: lo, I give the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing-rollers for wood, and the wheat for the meat-offering; the whole do I give [thee].
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.
24 And king David said to Ornan, No: but I will surely buy it at the full value; for I will not take what is thine for the Lord, so as to offer burnt-offerings without paying therefore.
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.
25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.
26 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and he called on the Lord: and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering.
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.
27 And the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put back his sword into its sheath.
Then the Lord gave orders to the angel, and he put back his sword into its cover.
28 At that time when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then did he sacrifice there.
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.
29 But the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt-offering, were at that time in the high-place at Gib'on.
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.
30 But David was not able to go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
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.
