1 Chronicles 21
1 Then the accuser stood up, against Israel, —and moved David, to number 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 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.
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 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?
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 But, the word of the king, prevailed against Joab, —and Joab departed, and went to and fro throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
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 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.
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, Levi and Benjamin, counted he not among them, —for detestable was the word of the king unto Joab.
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 it was displeasing in the eyes of God, concerning this thing, —therefore smote he 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 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.
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 Then spake Yahweh unto Gad, the seer of David saying:
Then Yahweh said to Gad, David’s prophet,
10 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.
“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 unto David, —and said to him, Thus, saith Yahweh,
So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You can choose one of these [punishments]:
12 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.
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 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.
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 Yahweh laid pestilence, upon Israel, —and there fell, of Israel, seventy thousand men.
So Yahweh sent a plague on [the people of] Israel, and 70,000 of them died because of it.
15 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.
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, 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.
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 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!
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 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.
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 David went up, according to the word of Gad, which he spake in the name of Yahweh.
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, and saw the messenger, but, his four sons with him, were hiding themselves, —now, Ornan, had been threshing 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 David gave to Ornan, for the place, —shekels of gold, by weight, six hundred.
So David paid Araunah 600 pieces of gold for the whole area.
26 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.
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 Yahweh gave word to tile messenger, and he put back his sword into its 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 David saw that Yahweh had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, 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 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;
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 David could not go before it, to seek God, —for he had been terrified, because of the sword of the messenger of Yahweh.
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.
