1 Chronicles 20:1-22

New International Version

The Capture of Rabbah^(A)

20 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah^(B) and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins.^(C) ²David took the crown from the head of their king^[a]—its weight was found to be a talent^[b] of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city ³and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes.^(D) David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

War With the Philistines^(E)

⁴In the course of time, war broke out with the Philistines, at Gezer.^(F) At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaites,^(G) and the Philistines were subjugated.

⁵In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod.^(H)

⁶In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. ⁷When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

⁸These were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.

David Counts the Fighting Men^(I)

21 Satan^(J) rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census^(K) of Israel. ²So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count^(L) the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”

³But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over.^(M) My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

⁴The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. ⁵Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel^(N) there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

⁶But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. ⁷This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

⁸Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

⁹The Lord said to Gad,^(O) David’s seer,^(P) ¹⁰“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

¹¹So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: ¹²three years of famine,^(Q) three months of being swept away^[c] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword^(R) of the Lord^(S)—days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

¹³David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy^(T) is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁴So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.^(U) ¹⁵And God sent an angel^(V) to destroy Jerusalem.^(W) But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented^(X) concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying^(Y) the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah^[d] the Jebusite.

¹⁶David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.^(Z)

¹⁷David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd,^[e] have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep.^(AA) What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family,^(AB) but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor^(AC) of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁹So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord.

²⁰While Araunah was threshing wheat,^(AD) he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. ²¹Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

²²David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”

²³Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”

²⁴But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

²⁵So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels^[f] of gold for the site. ²⁶David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire^(AE) from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. ²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. ²⁹The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon.^(AF) ³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

22 Then David said, “The house of the Lord God^(AG) is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 20:2 Or of Milkom, that is, Molek
1 Chronicles 20:2 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
1 Chronicles 21:12 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Samuel 24:13) of fleeing
1 Chronicles 21:15 Hebrew Ornan, a variant of Araunah; also in verses 18-28
1 Chronicles 21:17 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see 2 Samuel 24:17 and note); Masoretic Text does not have the shepherd.
1 Chronicles 21:25 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms

Psalm 72

New International Version

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Endow the king with your justice,^(A) O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.
²May he judge your people in righteousness,^(B)
your afflicted ones with justice.

³May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴May he defend the afflicted^(C) among the people
    and save the children of the needy;^(D)
    may he crush the oppressor.^(E)
⁵May he endure^[a]^(F) as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.^(G)
⁶May he be like rain^(H) falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷In his days may the righteous flourish^(I)
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea
    and from the River^[b]^(J) to the ends of the earth.^(K)
⁹May the desert tribes bow before him
    and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish^(L) and of distant shores^(M)
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba^(N) and Seba
    present him gifts.^(O)
¹¹May all kings bow down^(P) to him
    and all nations serve^(Q) him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³He will take pity^(R) on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.
¹⁴He will rescue^(S) them from oppression and violence,
    for precious^(T) is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!
    May gold from Sheba^(U) be given him.
May people ever pray for him
    and bless him all day long.^(V)
¹⁶May grain^(W) abound throughout the land;
    on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops^(X) flourish like Lebanon^(Y)
    and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.^(Z)
¹⁷May his name endure forever;^(AA)
    may it continue as long as the sun.^(AB)

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
and they will call him blessed.^(AC)

¹⁸Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,^(AD)
who alone does marvelous deeds.^(AE)
¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name^(AF) forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.^(AG)
Amen and Amen.^(AH)

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.^(AI)

Footnotes

Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
Psalm 72:16 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text Lebanon, / from the city
Psalm 72:17 Or will use his name in blessings (see Gen. 48:20)