< 1 Chronicles 21 >

1 Sotheli Sathan roos ayens Israel, and stiride Dauid for to noumbre Israel.
And the devil stood up against Israel, and moved David to number 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 king David said to Joab and to the captains of the forces, Go, number Israel from Bersabee even to Dan, and bring me [the account], and I shall know 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 add to his people, a hundred-fold as many as they [are], and [let] the eyes of my lord the king see [it]: all [are] the servants of my lord. Why does my lord seek this thing? [do it not], lest it become a 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.
Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab; and Joab went out and passed 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 the number of the mustering of the people to David: and all Israel was a million and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and the sons of Juda [were] four hundred and seventy thousand men that drew sword.
6 For Joab noumbride not Leuy and Beniamyn, for ayens his wille he dide the comaundement of the kyng.
But he numbered not Levi and Benjamin among them; for the word of the king was painful to Joab.
7 Forsothe that that was comaundid displeside the Lord, and he smoot Israel.
And [there was] evil in the sight of the Lord respecting this thing; and he smote 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.
And David said to God, I have sinned exceedingly, in that I have done this thing: and now, I pray thee, remove the sin of thy servant; for I have been exceedingly foolish.
9 And the Lord spak to Gad, the profete of Dauid,
And the Lord spoke to Gad the 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 speak to David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I bring three things upon thee: choose one of them for thyself, and I will do it to thee.
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,
And Gad came to David, and said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose for thyself,
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.
either three years of famine, or that thou shouldest flee three months from the face of thine enemies, and the sword of thine enemies [shall be employed] to destroy thee, or that the sword of the Lord and pestilence [should be] three days in the land, and the angel of the Lord [shall be] destroying in all the inheritance of Israel. And now consider what I shall answer to him that sent the message.
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, They are very hard for me, even [all] the three: let me fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies [are] very abundant, and let me not fall by any means into the hands of man.
14 Therfor the Lord sente pestilence in to Israel, and seuenti thousynde of men felden doun of Israel.
So the Lord brought pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel 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 to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord saw, and repented for the evil, and said to the angel that was destroying, Let it suffice thee; withhold thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing-floor of Orna 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 lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord, standing between the earth and the heaven, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem: and David and the elders clothed in sackcloth, fell upon 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 [that] gave orders to number the people? and I am the guilty one; I have greatly sinned: but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord God, let thy hand be upon me, and upon my father's house, and not on thy people for destruction, O Lord!
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.
And the angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David, that he should go up to erect and altar to the Lord, in the threshing-floor of Orna 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 according to the word of Gad, which he spoke 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 Orna turned and saw the king; and he hid himself and his four sons with him. Now Orna was threshing wheat.
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 David came to Orna; and Orna came forth from the threshing-floor, and did obeisance to David with his face to the ground.
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.
And David said to Orna, Give me thy place of the threshing-floor, and I will build upon it an altar to the Lord: give it me for its worth in money, and the plague shall cease from [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 Orna said to David, Take it to thyself, and let my lord the king do what is right in his eyes: see, I have given the calves for a whole-burnt-offering, and the plough for wood, and the corn for a meat-offering; I have given 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 Orna, Nay; for I will surely buy it for its worth in money: for I will not take thy property for the Lord, to offer a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord without cost [to myself].
25 Therfor Dauid yaf to Ornam for the place sixe hundrid siclis of gold of most iust weiyte.
And David gave to Orna for his place six hundred shekels of gold [by] weight.
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 built there an altar to the Lord, and offered up whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings: and he cried to the Lord, and he answered him by fire out of heaven on the altar of whole-burnt-offerings, and [it] consumed the whole-burnt-offering.
27 And the Lord comaundide to the aungel, and he turnede his swerd in to the schethe.
And the Lord spoke to the angel; and he put up the sword into its sheath.
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 answered him in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite, he also sacrificed 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;
And the tabernacle of the Lord which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of whole-burnt-offerings, [were] at that time in the high place at Gabaon.
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.
And David could not go before it to enquire of God; for he hasted not because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

< 1 Chronicles 21 >