1 Chronicles 21
1 Sotheli Sathan roos ayens Israel, and stiride Dauid for to noumbre Israel.
Now Satan, designing evil against Israel, put into David's mind the impulse to take the number of Israel.
2 And Dauid seide to Joab, and to the princes of the puple, Go ye, and noumbre Israel fro Bersabe til to Dan, and brynge ye the noumbre to me, that Y wite.
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 And Joab answeride, The Lord encresse his puple an hundrid fold more than thei ben; my lord the kyng, whether alle ben not thi seruauntis? Whi sekith my lord this thing, that schal be arettid in to synne to 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 But the word of the kyng hadde more the maistrie; and Joab yede out, and cumpasside al Israel, and turnede ayen in 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 he yaf to Dauid the noumbre of hem, which he hadde cumpassid; and al the noumbre of Israel was foundun a thousynde thousande, and an hundrid thousynde of men, drawynge out swerd; forsothe of Juda weren thre hundrid thousynde, and seuenti thousynde of werriouris.
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 For Joab noumbride not Leuy and Beniamyn, for ayens his wille he dide the comaundement of the kyng.
But Levi and Benjamin were not numbered among them, for Joab was disgusted with the king's order.
7 Forsothe that that was comaundid displeside the Lord, and he smoot Israel.
And God was not pleased with this thing; so he sent punishment on Israel.
8 And Dauid seide to God, Y synnede greetli that Y wolde do this; Y biseche, do thou awey the wickidnesse of thi seruaunt, for Y dide folili.
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 spak to Gad, the profete of Dauid,
Then the word of the Lord came to Gad, David's seer, saying,
10 and seide, Go thou, and speke to Dauid, and seie to him, The Lord seith these thingis, Y yeue to thee the chesyng of thre thingis; chese thou oon which thou wolt, that Y do to 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 And whanne Gad was comen to Dauid, he seide to Dauid, The Lord seith these thingis, Chese thou that that thou wolt, ether pestilence thre yeer,
So Gad came to David and said to him, The Lord says, Take whichever you will:
12 ether that thre monethis thou fle thin enemyes and mow not ascape her swerd, ether that the swerd of the Lord and deeth regne thre daies in the lond, and that the aungel of the Lord slee in alle the coostis of Israel. Now therfor se thou, what Y schal answere to hym that sente 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 Dauid seide to Gad, Angwischis oppresse me on ech part, but it is betere to me, that Y falle in to the hondis of the Lord, for his merciful doynges ben manye, than in to the hondis of men.
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 Therfor the Lord sente pestilence in to Israel, and seuenti thousynde of men felden doun of Israel.
So the Lord sent disease on Israel, causing the death of seventy thousand men.
15 Also he sente an aungel in to Jerusalem, that he schulde smyte it; and whanne it was smytun, the Lord siy, and hadde merci on the greetnesse of yuel; and comaundide to the aungel that smoot, It suffisith, now thin hond ceesse. Forsothe the aungel of the Lord stood bisidis the cornfloor of Ornam Jebusey.
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 Dauid reiside hise iyen, and siy the aungel of the Lord stondynge bitwixe heuene and erthe, and a drawun swerd in his hond, and turnede ayens Jerusalem. And bothe he and the grettere men in birthe weren clothid with heiris, and felden doun lowe on the erthe.
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 Dauid seide to the Lord, Whether Y am not that comaundide that the puple schulde be noumbrid? Y it am that synnede, Y it am that dide yuel; what disseruid this floc? My Lord God, Y biseche, thin hond be turned `in to me, and `in to the hows of my fadir; but thi puple be not smytun.
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 Forsothe an aungel of the Lord comaundide Gad, that he schulde seie to Dauid, `that he schulde stie, and bilde an auter to the Lord God in the cornfloor of Ornam Jebusei.
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 Therfor Dauid stiede bi the word of Gad, which he spak to hym bi the word of the Lord.
And David went up, as Gad had said in the name of the Lord.
20 Forsothe whanne Ornam hadde `biholde, and hadde seyn the aungel, and hise foure sones `with hym `hadde seyn, thei hidden hem, for in that tyme he threischide whete in the cornfloor.
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 Therfor whanne Dauid cam to Ornam, Ornam bihelde Dauid, and yede forth fro the cornfloor ayens hym, and worschipide hym, lowli on 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 And Dauid seide to hym, Yyue the place of thi cornfloor to me, that Y bilde ther ynne an auter to the Lord; so that thou take as myche siluer as it is worth, and that the veniaunce ceesse fro the puple.
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 Forsothe Ornam seide to Dauid, Take thou, and my lord the kyng do what euer thing plesith hym; but also Y yyue oxis in to brent sacrifice, and instrumentis of tree, wherbi cornes ben throischun, in to trees, and wheete in to sacrifice; Y yyue alle thingis wilfully.
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 `Dauid the kyng seide to hym, It schal not be don so, but Y schal yyue siluer as myche as it is worth; for Y owe not take awei fro thee, and offre so to the Lord brent sacrifices freli youun.
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 Therfor Dauid yaf to Ornam for the place sixe hundrid siclis of gold of most iust weiyte.
So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.
26 And he bildide there an auter to the Lord, and he offride brent sacrifice and pesible sacrifices, and he inwardli clepide God; and God herde hym in fier fro heuene on the auter of brent sacrifice.
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 comaundide to the aungel, and he turnede his swerd in to the schethe.
Then the Lord gave orders to the angel, and he put back his sword into its cover.
28 Therfor anoon Dauid siy, that the Lord hadde herd hym in the corn floor of Ornam Jebusey, and he offride there slayn sacrifices.
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 Forsothe the tabernacle of the Lord, that Moyses hadde maad in the deseert, and the auter of brent sacrifices, was in that tempest in the hiy place of Gabaon;
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 and Dauid myyte not go to the auter, to biseche God there, for he was aferd bi ful greet drede, seynge the swerd of the `aungel 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.
