The Census of Israel and Judah^(A)

21 Now ^(B)Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to ^[a]number Israel. ² So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, ^(C)and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”

³ And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”

⁴ Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. ⁵ Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. ^6 (D)But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ^[b]word was abominable to Joab.

⁷ And ^[c]God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. ⁸ So David said to God, ^(E)“I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; ^(F)but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s ^(G)seer, saying, ¹⁰ “Go and tell David, ^(H)saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”

¹¹ So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, ^12 (I)either ^[d]three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord—the plague in the land, with the ^[e]angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹³ And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His ^(J)mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁴ So the Lord sent a ^(K)plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. ¹⁵ And God sent ^[f]an ^(L)angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As ^[g]he was destroying, the Lord looked and ^(M)relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain ^[h]your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the ^(N)threshing floor of ^[i]Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶ Then David lifted his eyes and ^(O)saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷ And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these ^(P)sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

¹⁸ Therefore, the ^(Q)angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹ So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord. ²⁰ Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. ²¹ So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. ²² Then David said to Ornan, ^[j]“Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the Lord. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

²³ But Ornan said to David, “Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.”

²⁴ Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” ²⁵ So ^(R)David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. ²⁶ And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and ^(S)He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷ So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

²⁸ At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. ^29 (T)For the tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in ^(U)Gibeon. ³⁰ But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

David Prepares to Build the Temple

22 Then David said, ^(V)“This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” ² So David commanded to gather the ^(W)aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to ^(X)cut hewn stones to build the house of God. ³ And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance ^(Y)beyond measure, ⁴ and cedar trees in abundance; for the ^(Z)Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵ Now David said, ^(AA)“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.

⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon, and ^[k]charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, ^(AB)it was in my mind to build a house ^(AC)to the name of the Lord my God; ⁸ but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(AD)‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. ^9 (AE)Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him ^(AF)rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be ^[l]Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ^10 (AG)He shall build a house for My name, and ^(AH)he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, may ^(AI)the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. ¹² Only may the Lord ^(AJ)give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13 (AK)Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord ^[m]charged Moses concerning Israel. ^(AL)Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴ Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron ^(AM)beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. ¹⁶ Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and ^(AN)the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David also commanded all the ^(AO)leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? ^(AP)And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to ^(AQ)bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built ^(AR)for the name of the Lord.”

Wine Is a Mocker

The Damascus Road: Saul Converted^(A)

9 Then ^(B)Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked ^(C)letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

^3 (D)As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. ⁴ Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, ^(E)why are you persecuting Me?”

⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ^[a]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

⁶ So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ And ^(F)the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Ananias Baptizes Saul

¹⁰ Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus ^(G)named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”

And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

¹¹ So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul ^(H)of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. ¹² And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

¹³ Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(I)how much ^[b]harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all ^(J)who call on Your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(K)he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before ^(L)Gentiles, ^(M)kings, and the ^(N)children^[c] of Israel. ¹⁶ For ^(O)I will show him how many things he must suffer for My ^(P)name’s sake.”

^17 (Q)And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and ^(R)laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord ^[d]Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and ^(S)be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

¹⁹ So when he had received food, he was strengthened. ^(T)Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

Saul Preaches Christ

²⁰ Immediately he preached ^[e]the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

²¹ Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ^(U)“Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”