David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David ^(A)inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his ^[a]bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” ² So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but ^(B)of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them ^(C)in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.

³ Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless ^(D)the inheritance of the Lord?”

⁴ And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.”

So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”

⁵ Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, ⁶ let seven men of his descendants be delivered ^(E)to us, and we will hang them before the Lord ^(F)in Gibeah of Saul, ^(G)whom the Lord chose.”

And the king said, “I will give them.”

⁷ But the king spared ^(H)Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of ^(I)the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. ⁸ So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of ^(J)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of ^[b]Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she ^[c]brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; ⁹ and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill ^(K)before the Lord. So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

¹⁰ Now ^(L)Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, ^(M)from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.

¹¹ And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. ¹² Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of ^(N)Jabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of ^[d]Beth Shan, where the ^(O)Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa. ¹³ So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. ¹⁴ They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in ^(P)Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that ^(Q)God heeded the prayer for the land.

David’s Census of Israel and Judah^(A)

24 Again ^(B)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, ^(C)“Go, ^[a]number Israel and Judah.”

² So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, ^(D)from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that ^(E)I may know the number of the people.”

³ And Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God ^(F)add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” ⁴ Nevertheless the king’s word ^[b]prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.

⁵ And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in ^(G)Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward ^(H)Jazer. ⁶ Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to ^(I)Dan Jaan and around to ^(J)Sidon; ⁷ and they came to the stronghold of ^(K)Tyre and to all the cities of the ^(L)Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. ⁸ So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. ^(M)And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

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, ^(A)“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 ^(B)aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to ^(C)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 ^(D)beyond measure, ⁴ and cedar trees in abundance; for the ^(E)Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵ Now David said, ^(F)“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 ^[a]charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, ^(G)it was in my mind to build a house ^(H)to the name of the Lord my God; ⁸ but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(I)‘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 (J)Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him ^(K)rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be ^[b]Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ^10 (L)He shall build a house for My name, and ^(M)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 ^(N)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 ^(O)give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13 (P)Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord ^[c]charged Moses concerning Israel. ^(Q)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 ^(R)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 ^(S)the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David also commanded all the ^(T)leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? ^(U)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 ^(V)bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built ^(W)for the name of the Lord.”

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song ^(A)at the dedication of the house of David.