Chronological
The Census
24 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel again, and he incited David against them so that he said, “Go count Israel and Judah.”
2 The king said to Joab, the commander of his army, “Travel through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the fighting men. Then I will know how many there are.”
3 Joab said to the king, “The Lord your God will make the people a hundred times larger, however many they may be, and the eyes of my lord the king will see it. But why does my lord the king have such a strong desire to do this?”
4 But the word of the king overruled Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer on the south side of the city that is in the middle of the canyon. Next they went to Gad and then to Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi. After that, they came to Dan Ja’an and around to Sidon. 7 Then they came to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. After that they went out to the Negev of Judah at Beersheba.
8 So they went throughout all the land, and then came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 Joab reported the numbers from the registration of the fighting men to the king. Israel had eight hundred thousand soldiers who could draw a sword. Judah had five hundred thousand men.
10 David had a guilty conscience after he had counted the fighting men. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But, Lord, please take away the guilt of your servant, because I have acted very foolishly.”
11 When David got up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to Gad the prophet, David’s seer. The Lord said, 12 “Go tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says. I am laying out three choices before you. Choose one of them for yourself, and I will carry it out against you.’”
13 So Gad went to David and told him about this. He said, “Shall seven[a] years of famine in your land come upon you, or three months of fleeing with your enemies pursuing you, or three days of plague[b] in your land? Now consider this and decide what answer I should return to the one who sent me.”
14 David said to Gad, “This puts me in a difficult position. Please! Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great. But do not let me fall into the hands of man.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague against Israel from the next morning until the appointed time. Seventy thousand people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 The angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, but the Lord relented and did not bring the disaster. He said to the angel who was carrying out the destruction among the people, “Enough. Now hold back your hand.”
The angel of the Lord was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 David said to the Lord, as he was watching the angel striking the people, “Look! I am the one who sinned. I am guilty. But these sheep—what have they done? Please! Let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.”
David Builds an Altar to the Lord
18 Gad came to David on that day and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up and obeyed Gad’s instructions as the Lord had commanded.
20 Araunah looked up and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed down to the king with his face to the ground, 21 and he said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”
David said, “To purchase the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, so the plague will be held back from the people.”
22 Araunah said to David, “My lord the king can take it and offer whatever seems good to him. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, as well as the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 O King, Araunah is giving all this to the king.” Araunah also said to the king, “The Lord your God will accept you.”
24 But the king said to Araunah, “No. I insist on purchasing it from you for what it is worth. I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that I did not pay for.”
So David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.[c] 25 He built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings there. The Lord heard the requests for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.
David’s Census
21 Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to count Israel. 2 David said to Joab and to the officers of the army, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan. Let me know how many they are.”
3 Joab said, “The Lord will multiply his people a hundred times. Are not all of them your servants, my lord the king? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should there be guilt upon Israel?”
4 But the word of the king overruled Joab.
Joab went throughout all Israel and came back to Jerusalem. 5 He reported the total number of the people to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could draw the sword, including four hundred seventy thousand from Judah who could draw the sword. 6 He did not include Levi and Benjamin in the census because the king’s directive was offensive to Joab. 7 This action was also evil in the eyes of God, so he struck Israel.
8 David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Please forgive the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
9 The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, 10 “Go tell David this is what the Lord has said. I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them for yourself, and I will impose it on you.”
11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says. Choose one of these for yourself: 12 either three years of famine, or three months of devastation in which you are overwhelmed by the sword of your enemies, or three days of the sword of the Lord bringing plague on the land, with the angel of the Lord causing destruction throughout all the territory of Israel. Now decide what answer I should take back to the one who sent me with this directive.”
13 David said to Gad, “This puts me in a difficult position. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, because his compassion is very great. But do not let me fall into the hands of man.”
14 The Lord caused a plague[a] in Israel. Seventy thousand men from Israel fell. 15 God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. The Lord saw the destruction, and he relented from this devastation. He said to the destroying angel, “Enough. Hold back your hand.”
The angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan[b] the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between the earth and the heavens, with his sword drawn in his hand and stretched out over Jerusalem. David and the elders, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 David said to God, “Look, I am the one who said to count the people. I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep! What have they done, O Lord my God? Please let your hand be on me and on the house of my father. But not a plague on your people!”
18 The angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David to go and set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 David went up according to the directive from Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord.
20 While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel. Ornan and his four sons hid themselves.
David Builds an Altar
21 As David approached Ornan, Ornan looked up and saw David. He went out from the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground. 22 David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of the threshing floor. I will build an altar to the Lord on it. You will give it to me for full price, and the plague will be averted from the people.”
23 Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself. My lord the king may do what is good in his eyes. Look here. I have given the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I have given everything.”
24 David said to Ornan, “No. I am determined to buy it for the full price, because I will not take what belongs to you for the Lord and for burnt offerings without paying for it.”
25 So David weighed out six hundred shekels[c] of gold to Ornan for the site.
26 Then David built an altar to the Lord there, and he offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called to the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar for burnt offerings. 27 The Lord spoke to the angel. The angel put his sword back into its sheath.
28 At that time, when David saw the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.
29 The Dwelling for the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering at that time were at the high place at Gibeon. 30 David was not able to go before it to seek answers from God because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
Plans for the Temple
22 Then David said, “This is the place for the House of the Lord God and for the altar for burnt offerings for Israel.” 2 David said to gather together the aliens who were residents in the land of Israel. He lined up stonecutters to prepare trimmed stones for building the house for God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron for making nails for the doors of the gates, and he provided so much bronze for the fittings[d] that it was not weighed. 4 He provided cedar logs beyond number because the Sidonians and Tyrians brought a large supply of cedar logs to David.
5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced. The house to be built for the Lord will make his name very great and give him glory in all the lands. Therefore, I will make preparations for it.” So David completed many of the preparations before his death. 6 He summoned his son Solomon and commanded him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 David said to Solomon:
My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord was laid upon me: “You have shed much blood. You have waged great wars. You will not build a house for my name because of the great amount of blood you have shed on the earth in my presence. 9 You see, a son has been born to you. He will be a man of peace. To him I will give peace from all the enemies around him. Solomon will be his name. I will bestow peace and quiet upon Israel in his days. 10 He will build a house for my name. He will be my son. I will be his father. I will establish the throne of his kingdom in Israel forever.”
11 Now, my son, the Lord will be with you. You will succeed. You will build the house for the Lord your God, as he has said about you. 12 The Lord will give you discretion and understanding. He will give you orders about Israel and about how to keep the Law of the Lord your God. 13 You will prosper if you will continue to carry out the statutes and the judgments that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and be courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed.
14 Look! With great effort I have provided one hundred thousand talents[e] of gold for the House of the Lord, a million talents of silver, and too much bronze and iron to be weighed. I have provided lumber and stones. You may add to what I have provided. 15 There are plenty of laborers available to you, namely, stonecutters, masons, and wood workers, and those capable in all kinds of crafts, 16 also workers with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, too many to count. Get up and do it. The Lord will be with you.
17 David commanded all the officials and officers of Israel to help his son Solomon. He said:
18 Is not the Lord your God with you? He has given you peace on all sides by giving the inhabitants of the land into my hand. The land has been subdued before the Lord and before his people. 19 Now devote your hearts and your minds to seek the Lord your God. Get up and build the holy place for the Lord God, in order to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house built for the name of the Lord.
Psalm 30
You Brought Me Up From the Grave
Heading
A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple. By David.
Praise for Answered Prayer
1 I will exalt you, O Lord,
because you lifted me up.
You did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you,
and you healed me.
3 Lord, you snatched my life from the grave.
You kept me alive so I did not go down into the pit.
Join Me in Prayer
4 Make music to the Lord, you his favored ones,
and give thanks when you remember[a] his holiness,
5 for we spend a moment under his anger,
but we enjoy a lifetime in his favor.
In the evening, weeping comes to stay through the night,
but in the morning, there is rejoicing!
Wrestling in Prayer
6 But I—I said in my security,
“I will never be knocked down.”
7 Lord, in your favor you made strength
stand like a mountain for me.
Then you hid your face. I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I call.
To the Lord I cry for mercy:
9 “What gain is there in shedding my blood,
in sending me down to destruction?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your truth?
10 Lord, hear and be merciful to me.
Lord, be a helper for me.”
A Happy Outcome
11 You turned my mourning into dancing.
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my whole being[b] may make music to you
and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I thank you forever.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.