1 Chronicles 21
English Standard Version
David's Census Brings Pestilence
21 (A)Then (B)Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” 3 But Joab said, “May the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are! Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord's servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?” 4 But the king's word prevailed against Joab. So Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came back to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. In all Israel there were (C)1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and in Judah (D)470,000 who drew the sword. 6 (E)But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the king's command was abhorrent to Joab.
7 But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel. 8 And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please (F)take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 9 And the Lord spoke to Gad, David's (G)seer, saying, 10 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will: 12 either (H)three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 13 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
14 So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he (I)relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, (J)clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. 17 And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people.”
David Builds an Altar
18 Now (K)the angel of the Lord had commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at Gad's word, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord. 20 Now Ornan was threshing wheat. He turned and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21 As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David and went out from the threshing floor and paid homage to David with his face to the ground. 22 And David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to the Lord—give it to me at its full price—that the plague may be averted from the people.” 23 Then Ornan said to David, “Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.” 24 But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” 25 So David paid Ornan (L)600 shekels[a] of gold by weight for the site. 26 And David built there an altar to the Lord and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the Lord, and the Lord[b] (M)answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering. 27 Then the Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering (N)were at that time in the high place at 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.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 21:25 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- 1 Chronicles 21:26 Hebrew he
1 Chronicles 21
International Standard Version
David’s Unauthorized Census(A)
21 Then Satan attacked Israel by inciting David to enumerate a census of Israel. 2 David ordered Joab and the commanders of the army,[a] “Go take a census of Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan, and bring me a report so I can be aware of the total number.”
3 But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the population of his people a hundredfold! Your majesty,[b] all of them are your majesty’s servants, aren’t they? So why should your majesty demand this? Why should he bring guilt to Israel?”
4 But the king’s order overruled Joab, so Joab left, traveled throughout all of Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem 5 to report the total population count to David. Throughout all of Israel there were 1,100,000 men trained for war.[c] In Judah there were 470,000 men trained for war. 6 Levi and Benjamin were not included in the census, because what the king had commanded was unethical to Joab.
David Chooses His Punishment(B)
7 God considered this behavior[d] to be evil, so he attacked Israel. 8 David responded to God, “I sinned greatly by behaving this way. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly.”
9 So the Lord responded through Gad, David’s seer. 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I’m holding three choices out for you: pick one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.”’”[e]
11 Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make a choice for yourself: 12 Either three years of famine, or three months of reversals[f] as you are swept away by your enemies while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days with the sword of the Lord, consisting of pestilence infecting the land, with the angel of the Lord wreaking destruction from border to border throughout all[g] of Israel.’ Decide right now what I am to answer to the one who sent me.”
13 So David replied to Gad, “This is a very bad choice for me to make! Let me now please fall into the hand of the Lord, because his mercy is very great, but may I never fall into human hands!”
14 Then the Lord sent a pestilence to Israel, and 70,000 men died in Israel. 15 God also sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as he was about to do so, the Lord looked and withdrew[h] the calamity by saying to the destroying angel, “Enough! Stop what you’re doing!”[i]
So the angel of the Lord remained standing near the threshing floor that belonged to Ornan[j] the Jebusite.[k] 16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
17 David told God, “Wasn’t I the one who ordered the census of the population? Wasn’t it I who sinned and acted wickedly? Now as for these sheep, what have they done? Lord God, please let your hand be against me and my ancestral household, but don’t let your people be ravaged by plague!”
David’s Altar(C)
18 The angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David that David was to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor that belonged to Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up, obeying Gad’s directive that he had spoken in the name of the Lord. 20 Ornan turned around and saw the angel. While his four sons with him ran away to hide, Ornan continued to thresh wheat. 21 As David approached Ornan, Ornan looked around and observed David, left the threshing floor, and fell to the ground before David with his face on the ground.
22 David told Ornan, “Give me the threshing floor as a site to build an altar to the Lord on it. Give it to me at its full price, so the plague may be averted from the people.”
23 But Ornan replied to David, “Take it! Let your majesty the king do whatever seems like a good idea to him. Look here! I’m giving the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing machinery for the wood, and the wheat for a grain offering. I’m giving all of it.”
24 But King David told Ornan, “No. I will buy them for the full price[l] because I will not offer to the Lord what is yours or offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
25 So David paid Ornan 600 shekels weight worth in gold for the site, 26 built an altar to the Lord there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called out to the Lord, and he answered him from heaven with fire on the altar of burnt offerings. 27 After this, the Lord spoke to the angel, who then sheathed his sword.
28 From that time on, after David had observed that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he made his sacrifices there. 29 Meanwhile, the tent of the Lord that Moses had crafted in the desert, along with the altar of burnt offerings, were being stored at the high place in Gibeon at that time, 30 but David was not going before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword carried by the angel of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 21:2 Lit. people
- 1 Chronicles 21:3 Lit. my lord the king
- 1 Chronicles 21:5 Lit. men in wielding a sword
- 1 Chronicles 21:7 Lit. this matter
- 1 Chronicles 21:10 MT pronouns are sing. in this vs.
- 1 Chronicles 21:12 Or destruction
- 1 Chronicles 21:12 Lit. destruction in all the border
- 1 Chronicles 21:15 Or and relented concerning
- 1 Chronicles 21:15 Lit. Stay your hand
- 1 Chronicles 21:15 Ornan was also known as Araunah; cf. 2Sam 24:16
- 1 Chronicles 21:15 I.e. a descendant of Canaan’s third son (cf. Gen 10:15-16); Jebusites were native to Jebus, the ancient name of the city of Jerusalem
- 1 Chronicles 21:24 Lit. silver
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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