⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting^(A) and fell facedown,^(B) and the glory of the Lord^(C) appeared to them. ⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff,^(D) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.^(E) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff^(F) from the Lord’s presence,^(G) just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together^(H) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”^{(I) 11} Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water^(J) gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy^(K) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”^(L)

¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,^[a](A) and lay your hand on him.^{(B) 19} Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him^(C) in their presence.^{(D) 20} Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.^{(E) 21} He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring^(F) of the Urim^(G) before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

²² Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. ²³ Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him,^(H) as the Lord instructed through Moses.

The Death of Moses

34 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo^(A) from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah,^(B) across from Jericho.^(C) There the Lord showed^(D) him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan,^{(E) 2} all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea,^{(F) 3} the Negev^(G) and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms,^(H) as far as Zoar.^{(I) 4} Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath^(J) to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob^(K) when I said, ‘I will give it^(L) to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross^(M) over into it.”

⁹ The Lord said to Gad,^(A) David’s seer,^{(B) 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.’”

¹¹ So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: ¹² three years of famine,^(C) three months of being swept away^[a] before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword^(D) of the Lord^(E)—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.”

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

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

¹⁶ David 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.^(L)

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

David Builds an Altar

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

²⁰ While Araunah was threshing wheat,^(P) he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. ²¹ Then 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.

²² David 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.”

²³ Araunah 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.”

²⁴ But 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.”

²⁵ So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels^[d] of gold for the site. ²⁶ David 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^(Q) from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷ Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. ²⁸ At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. ²⁹ The 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.^{(R) 30} But 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^(S) is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

Preparations for the Temple

² So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners^(T) residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters^(U) to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. ³ He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed.^{(V) 4} He also provided more cedar logs^(W) than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

⁵ David said, “My son Solomon is young^(X) and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor^(Y) in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build^(Z) a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart^(AA) to build^(AB) a house for the Name^(AC) of the Lord my God. ⁸ But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars.^(AD) You are not to build a house for my Name,^(AE) because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. ⁹ But you will have a son who will be a man of peace^(AF) and rest,^(AG) and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,^[e](AH) and I will grant Israel peace and quiet^(AI) during his reign. ¹⁰ He is the one who will build a house for my Name.^(AJ) He will be my son,^(AK) and I will be his father. And I will establish^(AL) the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’^(AM)

¹¹ “Now, my son, the Lord be with^(AN) you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. ¹² May the Lord give you discretion and understanding^(AO) when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.