1 Chronicles 21:16-18

Holman Christian Standard Bible

¹⁶ When David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth,^(A) fell down with their faces to the ground. ¹⁷ David said to God, “Wasn’t I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? My Lord God, please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s family, but don’t let the plague be against Your people.”

David’s Altar

¹⁸ So the angel of the Lord ordered Gad^(B) to tell David to go and set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.^(C)