David Sins by Numbering Israel

21 ^(A)Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel. ² So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “^(B)Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their total count.” ³ But Joab said, “^(C)May Yahweh 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 stood strong against Joab. So, Joab went out and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. ⁵ And Joab gave the total count of the ^[a]census of the people to David. And ^(D)all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. ^6 (E)But he did not ^[b]number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ^[c]command was abominable to Joab.

⁷ And this thing was displeasing in the sight of God, so He struck Israel. ⁸ Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. ^(F)But now, please take away the iniquity of Your slave, for I have acted very foolishly.”

⁹ And Yahweh spoke to ^(G)Gad, David’s ^(H)seer, saying, ¹⁰ “Go and speak to David, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I ^[d]am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, and I will do that to you.”’” ¹¹ So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Take for yourself ^12 (I)either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your adversaries, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of Yahweh, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ So now, see what word I should return to Him who sent me.” ¹³ Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me now fall into the hand of Yahweh, ^(J)for His compassions are exceedingly abundant. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

^14 (K)So Yahweh ^[e]sent a pestilence against Israel; and 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, Yahweh saw and ^[f](L)relented concerning the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough! Now relax your hand.” And the angel of Yahweh was standing by the threshing floor of ^[g]Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶ Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, ^(M)covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷ And David said to God, “Is it not I who ^[h]commanded to number the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done a great evil; ^(N)but these sheep, what have they done? O Yahweh 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 Erects an Altar

^18 (O)Then the angel of Yahweh said to Gad to say to David, that David should go up and erect an altar to Yahweh 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 Yahweh. 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 Then David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David, and went out from the threshing floor and bowed his ^[i]face to the ground ^[j]before David. ²² Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the ^[k]site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to Yahweh; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be checked from being upon the people.” ²³ And 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 the burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give everything.” ²⁴ However, King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not lift up what is yours to Yahweh, or offer a burnt offering ^[l]which costs me nothing.” ²⁵ So ^(P)David gave Ornan ^[m]600 shekels of gold by weight for the ^[n]site. ²⁶ Then David built there an altar to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to Yahweh and ^(Q)He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. ²⁷ Then Yahweh spoke to the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

²⁸ At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. ^29 (R)Now the tabernacle of Yahweh, 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 Yahweh.

Preparation to Build Yahweh’s House

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

² So David said to gather ^(T)the sojourners who were in the land of Israel, and ^(U)he ^[o]appointed ^[p]stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. ³ And David ^(V)prepared large quantities of iron ^[q]to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more ^(W)bronze than could be weighed; ⁴ and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for ^(X)the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. ⁵ And David said, “My son ^(Y)Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh shall be highly exalted, for a name and beauty throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.

Solomon to Build Yahweh’s House

⁶ Then ^(Z)he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. ⁷ And David said to Solomon, “^(AA)My son, ^[r]I had it within my heart to build a house to the name of Yahweh my God. ⁸ But the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ‘^(AB)You have shed much blood and have ^[s]waged great wars; you shall not build a house for 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 ^(AC)I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for ^(AD)his name shall be ^[t]Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ^10 (AE)He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be a son to Me and I will be a father to him; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, ^(AF)Yahweh be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of Yahweh your God just as He has spoken concerning you. ^12 (AG)Only Yahweh give you insight and understanding, and give you command over Israel, so that you may ^(AH)keep the law of Yahweh your God. ^13 (AI)Then you will succeed, if you are careful to do the statutes and the judgments which Yahweh commanded Moses concerning Israel. ^(AJ)Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴ Now behold, ^[u]with great pains I have prepared for the house of Yahweh ^(AK)100,000 ^[v]talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and ^(AL)bronze and iron beyond weight, for ^[w]they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ Moreover, there are many of those who do the work with you, hewers of stone and craftsmen of stone and wood, and all men who are ^[x]wise in every kind of work. ¹⁶ Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no number. Arise and work, and may ^(AM)Yahweh be with you.”

^17 (AN)David also commanded all the officials of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not Yahweh your God with you? And ^(AO)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 Yahweh and before His people. ¹⁹ Now ^(AP)give your heart and your soul to seek Yahweh your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, ^(AQ)so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built ^(AR)for the name of Yahweh.”

David Assembles His Commanders

28 And ^(A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the commanders of Israel, the commanders of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that ministered to the king, and the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the commanders over all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, with the officials and ^(B)the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor. ² Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people; I ^(C)had it within my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and for ^(D)the footstool of the feet of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. ³ But God said to me, ‘^(E)You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ ⁴ Yet, Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^(F)chose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel ^(G)forever. For ^(H)He has chosen Judah to be a ruler; and ^(I)in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. ^5 (J)Now of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), ^(K)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel. ⁶ And He said to me, ‘Your son ^(L)Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. ⁷ And I will establish his kingdom forever ^(M)if he will be strong to do My commandments and My judgments, as ^[a]is done now.’ ⁸ So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of Yahweh, and in the hearing of our God, keep and seek after all the commandments of Yahweh your God so that you may possess the good land and cause your sons after you to inherit it forever.

⁹ “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and ^(N)serve Him with ^[b]a whole heart and a delighted soul; ^(O)for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. ^(P)If you seek Him, He will be found; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. ¹⁰ See now, for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; ^(Q)be strong and act.”

¹¹ Then David gave to his son Solomon ^(R)the pattern of ^(S)the porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms, and ^(T)the room for the mercy seat; ¹² and the pattern of all that he had in ^[c]mind, for the courts of the house of Yahweh, and for all the surrounding chambers, for ^(U)the treasuries of the house of God, and for the treasuries of the holy things; ¹³ also for ^(V)the divisions of the priests and ^(W)the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of Yahweh and for all the utensils of service in the house of Yahweh; ¹⁴ for the golden utensils, the weight of gold for all utensils for every kind of service; for the silver utensils, the weight of silver for all utensils for every kind of service; ¹⁵ and the weight of gold for the ^(X)golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the service of each lampstand; ¹⁶ and the gold by weight for the tables of showbread, for each table; and silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷ and the flesh hooks, the bowls, and the jars of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; ¹⁸ and for ^(Y)the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot, even ^(Z)the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of Yahweh.

¹⁹ “All this,” said David, “has been granted to me as insight in writing by the hand of Yahweh, ^(AA)all the ^[d]details of this pattern.”

²⁰ Then David said to his son Solomon, “^(AB)Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for Yahweh God, my God, is with you. ^(AC)He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of Yahweh is completed. ²¹ Now behold, ^(AD)there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and ^(AE)every willing man with wisdom will be with you in all the work for all the service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

Offerings for the Temple

29 Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, ^(AF)is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for ^(AG)the ^[e]temple is not for man, but for Yahweh God. ² Now ^(AH)with all my power I have prepared for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. ³ Moreover, in my pleasure in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already prepared for the holy ^[f]house, ⁴ namely, ^[g](AI)3,000 talents of gold, of ^(AJ)the gold of Ophir, and ^[h]7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the ^[i]buildings; ⁵ of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the hand of craftsmen. Who then would offer willingly ^[j]to ordain himself this day to Yahweh?”

⁶ Then ^(AK)the commanders of the fathers’ households, and the commanders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with ^(AL)the commanders of the king’s work, offered willingly; ⁷ and for the service for the house of God they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 ^[k](AM)darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of brass, and 100,000 talents of iron. ^8 [l]And whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of Yahweh, ^[m]in the care of ^(AN)Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ Then the people were glad because they had offered so willingly, for they made their freewill offering to Yahweh ^(AO)with a whole heart, and King David also was exceedingly glad.

David Blesses Yahweh

¹⁰ So David blessed Yahweh in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, from everlasting to everlasting. ^11 (AP)Yours, O Yahweh, is the greatness and the ^[n]power and the glory and the ^[o]victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the kingdom, O Yahweh, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. ^12 (AQ)Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and ^(AR)in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. ¹³ So now, our God, we are thanking You and praising Your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But who am I and who are my people that we should ^[p]be able to offer as willingly as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. ¹⁵ For ^(AS)we are sojourners before You, and foreign residents, like all our fathers were; ^(AT)our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. ¹⁶ O Yahweh our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. ¹⁷ And I know, O my God, that ^(AU)You try the heart and ^(AV)delight in uprightness. I, in the uprightness of my heart, have willingly offered all these things. So now with gladness I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. ¹⁸ O Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the ^[q]intentions of the heart of Your people, and prepare their heart to You; ¹⁹ and ^(AW)give to my son Solomon a whole heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and ^(AX)to build the ^[r]temple, for which I have made preparation.”

²⁰ Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless Yahweh your God.” And ^(AY)all the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and ^(AZ)bowed low and prostrated themselves to Yahweh and to the king.

Sacrifices to Yahweh

²¹ And on the next day ^(BA)they ^[s]made sacrifices to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²² So they ate and drank that day before Yahweh with great gladness.

David’s Officials and Sons Pledge Allegiance

And they made Solomon the son of David king ^(BB)a second time, and they ^(BC)anointed him as ruler for Yahweh and Zadok as priest. ²³ Then ^(BD)Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father; and he succeeded, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ And all the officials, the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David ^[t]pledged allegiance to King Solomon. ^25 (BE)And Yahweh highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and ^(BF)granted to him royal majesty which had not been on any king before him in Israel.

²⁶ Now ^(BG)David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ^27 (BH)And the ^[u]time which he reigned over Israel was forty years; in Hebron he reigned seven years and ^[v]in Jerusalem thirty-three years.

Death of David

²⁸ Then he died in ^(BI)a good old age, ^(BJ)full of days, riches and glory; and his son Solomon became king in his place. ²⁹ Now the acts of King David, from first to last, behold, they are written in the chronicles of ^(BK)Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of ^(BL)Nathan the prophet and in the chronicles of ^(BM)Gad the seer, ³⁰ with all his reign, his might, and the circumstances which came on him, on Israel, and on all the kingdoms of the lands.