War with Philistine Giants

20 ^(A)Then it happened ^[a]in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the sons of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. And ^(B)Joab struck Rabbah and overthrew it. ^2 (C)David took the crown of ^[b]their king from his head, and he found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. ³ He brought out the people who were in it, ^(D)and cut them with saws and with sharp instruments and with axes. And thus David did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

^4 (E)Now it came about after this, that war ^[c]broke out at ^[d]Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite ^[e]killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the ^[f]giants, and they were subdued. ⁵ And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of ^(F)Jair ^[g]killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the ^(G)shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. ⁶ Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants. ⁷ When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, ^[h]killed him. ⁸ These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Census Brings Pestilence

21 ^(H)Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. ² So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “^(I)Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number.” ³ Joab said, “^(J)May the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” ⁴ Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore, Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. ⁵ Joab gave the number of the ^[i]census of all the people to David. And ^(K)all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. ^6 (L)But he did not ^[j]number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ^[k]command was abhorrent to Joab.

^7 [l]God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel. ⁸ David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. ^(M)But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to ^(N)Gad, David’s ^(O)seer, saying, ¹⁰ “Go and speak to David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I ^[m]offer you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” ¹¹ So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Take for yourself ^12 (P)either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” ¹³ David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, ^(Q)for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

^14 (R)So the Lord ^[n]sent a pestilence on Israel; 70,000 men of Israel fell. ¹⁵ And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and ^(S)was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of ^[o]Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶ Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, ^(T)covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷ David said to God, “Is it not I who ^[p]commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, ^(U)but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

David’s Altar

^18 (V)Then the angel of the Lord ^[q]commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build 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 spoke in the name of the Lord. ²⁰ Now Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. And Ornan was threshing wheat. ²¹ As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out from the threshing floor and prostrated himself ^[r]before David with his face to the ground. ²² Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the ^[s]site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to the Lord; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be restrained from the people.” ²³ Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all.” ²⁴ But 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, or offer a burnt offering ^[t]which costs me nothing.” ²⁵ So ^(W)David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the ^[u]site. ²⁶ Then David built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the Lord and ^(X)He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. ²⁷ The Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath.

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

David Prepares for Temple Building

22 Then David said, “^(Z)This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

² So David ^[v]gave orders to gather ^(AA)the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and ^(AB)he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. ³ David ^(AC)prepared large quantities of iron ^[w]to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more ^(AD)bronze than could be weighed; ⁴ and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for ^(AE)the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. ⁵ David said, “My son ^(AF)Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.

Solomon Charged with the Task

⁶ Then ^(AG)he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “^(AH)My son, ^[x]I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘^(AI)You have shed much blood and have ^[y]waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. ⁹ Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and ^(AJ)I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for ^(AK)his name shall be ^[z]Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ^10 (AL)He shall build a house for My name, and 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, ^(AM)the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. ^12 (AN)Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may ^(AO)keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13 (AP)Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. ^(AQ)Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴ Now behold, ^[aa]with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord ^(AR)100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and ^(AS)bronze and iron beyond weight, for ^[ab]they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ Moreover, there are many workmen with you, stonecutters and masons of stone and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work. ¹⁶ Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may ^(AT)the Lord be with you.”

^17 (AU)David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? And ^(AV)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 ^(AW)set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, ^(AX)so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built ^(AY)for the name of the Lord.”

All the World Guilty

3 Then what ^[a]advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? ² Great in every respect. First of all, that ^(A)they were entrusted with the ^(B)oracles of God. ³ What then? If ^(C)some ^[b]did not believe, their ^[c]unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ^4 (D)May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found ^(E)a liar, as it is written,

⁵ But if our unrighteousness ^[e](G)demonstrates the righteousness of God, ^(H)what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (^(I)I am speaking in human terms.) ^6 (J)May it never be! For otherwise, how will ^(K)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie ^(L)the truth of God abounded to His glory, ^(M)why am I also still being judged as a sinner? ⁸ And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “^(N)Let us do evil that good may come”? ^[f]Their condemnation is just.

⁹ What then? ^[g](O)Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both ^(P)Jews and ^(Q)Greeks are ^(R)all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written,

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the ^(Y)Law says, it speaks to ^(Z)those who are ^[h]under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and ^(AA)all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰ because ^(AB)by the works ^[i]of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for ^[j](AC)through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

Justification by Faith

²¹ But now apart ^[k]from the Law ^(AD)the righteousness of God has been manifested, being ^(AE)witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the ^(AF)righteousness of God through ^(AG)faith ^(AH)in Jesus Christ for ^(AI)all those ^[l]who believe; for ^(AJ)there is no distinction; ²³ for all ^[m](AK)have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift ^(AL)by His grace through ^(AM)the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as ^(AN)a ^[n]propitiation ^[o](AO)in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, ^[p]because in the ^(AP)forbearance of God He ^(AQ)passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who ^[q]has faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where then is ^(AR)boasting? It is excluded. By ^(AS)what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ^28 [r]For ^(AT)we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works ^[s]of the Law. ²⁹ Or ^(AU)is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since indeed ^(AV)God ^(AW)who will justify the ^[t]circumcised ^[u]by faith and the ^[v]uncircumcised through faith ^(AX)is one.

³¹ Do we then nullify ^[w]the Law through faith? ^(AY)May it never be! On the contrary, we ^(AZ)establish the Law.