1 Chronicles 21
1 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].
An adversary arose against Israel and incited David to count Israel.
2 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.”
David said to Joab and to the commanders of the army, “Go, count the people of Israel from Beersheba to Dan and report back to me, that I may know their number.”
3 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.”
Joab said, “May Yahweh make his army a hundred times greater than it is. But my master the king, do they not all serve my master? Why does my master want this? Why bring guilt on Israel?”
4 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,
But the king's word was enforced against Joab. So Joab left and went throughout all Israel. Then he came back to Jerusalem.
5 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.
Then Joab reported the total of the count of the fighting men to David. There were in Israel 1,100,000 men who drew the sword. Judah alone had 470,000 soldiers.
6 Joab did not count the men from the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he was disgusted with what the king had commanded.
But Levi and Benjamin were not counted among them, for the king's command had disgusted Joab.
7 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.
God was offended by this action, so he attacked Israel.
8 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.”
David said to God, “I have greatly sinned by doing this. Now take away your servant's guilt, for I have acted very foolishly.”
9 Then Yahweh said to Gad, David’s prophet,
Yahweh told Gad, David's prophet,
10 “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.”
“Go say to David, 'This is what Yahweh says: I am giving you three choices. Choose one of them.'”
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You can choose one of these [punishments]:
So Gad went to David and said to him, “Yahweh says this, 'Choose one of these:
12 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.”
either three years of famine, three months being pursued by your enemies and being caught by their swords, or else three days of Yahweh's sword, that is, a plague in the land, with the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the land of Israel.' Now then, decide what answer I should take to the one who sent me.”
13 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].”
Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress! Let me fall into the hand of Yahweh rather than into the hand of man, for his merciful actions are very great.”
14 So Yahweh sent a plague on [the people of] Israel, and 70,000 of them died because of it.
So Yahweh sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand people died.
15 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]!”
God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was about to destroy it, Yahweh watched and changed his mind about the harm. He said to the destroying angel, “Enough! Now draw back your hand.” At that time the angel of Yahweh was standing at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 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.
David looked up and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand raised over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, lay facedown on the ground.
17 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].”
David said to God, “Is it not I that commanded that the army be numbered? I did this wicked thing. But these sheep, what have they done? Yahweh my God! Let your hand strike me and my family, but do not let the plague remain on your people.”
18 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.
So the angel of Yahweh commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar for Yahweh at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 So [after Gad told] David, [he] obeyed the message that Yahweh [MTY] had given to Gad, [and he went up there].
So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of Yahweh.
20 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.
While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel. He and his four sons with him hid themselves.
21 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.
When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David. He left the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground.
22 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.”
Then David said to Ornan, “Sell me this threshing floor, so I can build an altar for Yahweh. I will pay the full price, so that the plague may be removed from the people.”
23 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.”
Ornan said to David, “Take it as your own, my master the king. Do with it what is good in your sight. Look, I will give you oxen for burnt offerings, threshing sledges for wood, and wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all to you.”
24 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.”
King David said to Ornan, “No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and offer it as a burnt offering to Yahweh if it costs me nothing.”
25 So David paid Araunah 600 pieces of gold for the whole area.
So David paid six hundred shekels of gold for the place.
26 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.
David built an altar for Yahweh there and offered on it burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on Yahweh, who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar for burnt offerings.
27 Then Yahweh spoke to the angel, and told him to put his sword back into its sheath. [So the angel did that].
Then Yahweh gave an order to the angel, and the angel put his sword back into its sheath.
28 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.
When David saw that Yahweh had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he performed the sacrifice there at that same time.
29 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].
Now at that time, Yahweh's tabernacle, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar for burnt offerings, were at the high place at Gibeon.
30 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.
However, David could not go there to ask for God's direction, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of Yahweh.
