Chronological

24 The anger of Adonai blazed up against Isra’el, so he moved David to act against them by saying, “Go, take a census of Isra’el and Y’hudah.” ² The king said to Yo’av the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go systematically through all the tribes of Isra’el, from Dan to Be’er-Sheva; and take a census of the population; so that I can know how many people there are.” ³ Yo’av said to the king, “May Adonai your God add to the people a hundredfold, no matter how many there are; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king take pleasure in doing this?” ⁴ However, the king’s word prevailed against Yo’av and the army officers. So Yo’av and the army officers went out from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Isra’el.

⁵ They crossed the Yarden and pitched camp in ‘Aro‘er, to the south of the city in the Vadi of Gad; went on to Ya‘zer; ⁶ came to Gil‘ad and continued to the land of Tachtim-Hodshi. Then they arrived at Dan-Ya‘an, went around to Tzidon ⁷ and came to the stronghold of Tzor. They went on to the cities of the Hivi and of the Kena‘ani, and finished in the south of Y’hudah, at Be’er-Sheva. ⁸ When they were done going through all the land, they came back to Yerushalayim; it had taken nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Yo’av reported the results of the census to the king: there were in Isra’el 800,000 valiant men who could handle a sword, while the men of Y’hudah numbered 500,000.

¹⁰ But after he had taken the census, David was conscience-stricken. David said to Adonai, “I have greatly sinned in what I have done. But now, Adonai, please! Put aside your servant’s sin, for I have done a very foolish thing.” ¹¹ When David got up in the morning, this word of Adonai came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer: ¹² “Go and say to David that this is what Adonai says: ‘I am giving you a choice of three punishments. Choose one of them, and I will execute it against you.” ¹³ Gad came to David and told him; he said: “Do you want seven years of famine in your land? or do you want to flee before your enemies for three months while they pursue you? or do you want three days of plague in your land? Think about it, and tell me what to answer the one who sent me.”

¹⁴ David said to Gad, “This is very hard for me. Let us fall into the hand of Adonai, because his mercies are great, rather than have me fall into the hand of man.” ¹⁵ So Adonai sent a plague on Isra’el from that morning until the end of the specified time; 70,000 of the people died between Dan and Be’er-Sheva. ¹⁶ But when the angel stretched out his hand toward Yerushalayim to destroy it, Adonai changed his mind about causing such distress and said to the angel destroying the people, “Enough! Now withdraw your hand.” The angel of Adonai was at the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Y’vusi.

¹⁷ David spoke to Adonai when he saw the angel striking the people; he said, “Here, I have sinned, I have done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please! Let your hand be against me and against my father’s family!”

¹⁸ Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go, set up an altar to Adonai on the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Y’vusi.” ¹⁹ David went up and did what Gad had said, as Adonai had ordered. ²⁰ Aravnah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. Aravnah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. ²¹ Then Aravnah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy your threshing-floor, in order to build an altar to Adonai, so that the plague will be lifted from the people.” ²² Aravnah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up anything that seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering; you can use the threshing-sledges and the yokes for the oxen as firewood. ²³ All this, O king, Aravnah gives to the king.” Then Aravnah said to the king, “May Adonai your God accept you.”

²⁴ But the king said to Aravnah, “No; I insist on buying it from you at a price. I refuse to offer to Adonai my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for one-and-a-quarter pounds of silver shekels. ²⁵ Then David built an altar to Adonai there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, Adonai took pity on the land and lifted the plague from Isra’el.

21 The Adversary ^[a] now rose up against Isra’el and incited David to take a census of Isra’el. ² David said to Yo’av and the leaders of the people, “Go, take a census of Isra’el from Be’er-Sheva to Dan; then report to me, so that I can know how many of them there are.” ³ Yo’av said, “May Adonai make his people a hundred times as many as they are now! But, my lord the king, aren’t they all my lord’s servants in any case? Why does my lord the king require this? Why should he bring guilt upon Isra’el?” ⁴ Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Yo’av. So Yo’av left and went through all Isra’el, after which he came to Yerushalayim.

⁵ Yo’av reported the results of the census to David: in Isra’el were 1,100,000 men who could handle a sword, while Y’hudah had 470,000 men who could handle a sword. ⁶ But he didn’t count Levi and Binyamin among them, because the king’s order was hateful to Yo’av.

⁷ God was displeased with this and therefore punished Isra’el. ⁸ David said to God, “I have greatly sinned by doing this. But now, please! Put aside your servant’s sin, for I have done a very foolish thing.” ⁹ Adonai spoke to Gad, David’s seer: ¹⁰ “Go and tell David that Adonai says, ‘I am offering you a choice of three punishments: choose one of them, and I will execute it against you.’” ¹¹ Gad came to David and said to him, “Take your choice: ¹² three years of famine; or three months of being swept away by your enemies, while your enemies’ sword overwhelms you; or three days of Adonai’s sword — plague in the land, with the angel of Adonai destroying everywhere in Isra’el’s territory. Now think about what answer I should give to the one who sent me.”

¹³ David said to Gad, “This is very hard for me. Let me fall into the hand of Adonai, because his mercies are very great, rather than have me fall into the hand of man.” ¹⁴ So Adonai sent a plague on Isra’el; 70,000 of the people of Isra’el died.

¹⁵ God also sent an angel to destroy Yerushalayim, but when he was about to carry out the destruction, Adonai saw it and changed his mind about causing such distress; so he said to the destroying angel, “Enough! Now withdraw your hand.” The angel of Adonai was standing at the threshing-floor of Ornan the Y’vusi. ¹⁶ David raised his eyes and saw the angel of Adonai standing between the earth and the sky, and in his hand was a drawn sword stretched out over Yerushalayim. Then David and the leaders, wearing sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷ David said to God, “Wasn’t it I who ordered the census of the people? Yes, I am the one who has sinned and done something very wicked. But these sheep, what have they done? Please! Let your hand be against me and my father’s family, but not against your people, striking them with this plague!”

¹⁸ Then the angel of Adonai ordered Gad to tell David to go and set up an altar to Adonai on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Y’vusi. ¹⁹ David went up at Gad’s word, spoken in Adonai’s name. ²⁰ Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. As Ornan was threshing wheat, ²¹ David approached Ornan. When Ornan looked and saw David, he went out from the threshing-floor and prostrated himself before David with his face to the ground. ²² Then David said to Ornan, “Let me have the parcel with this threshing-floor, so that I can build on it an altar to Adonai — I will pay you its full value — so that the plague will be lifted from the people.” ²³ Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. I’m giving you the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing-sledges for firewood and the wheat for the grain offering — I’m giving it all.” ²⁴ But King David said to Ornan, “No; I insist on buying it from you at the full price. I refuse to take what is yours for Adonai or offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” ²⁵ So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 shekels of gold by weight [fifteen pounds]. ²⁶ Then David built an altar to Adonai there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called on Adonai, who answered him from heaven by fire on the altar for burnt offerings. ²⁷ Adonai gave an order to the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath. ²⁸ When David saw that Adonai had answered him at the threshing-floor of Ornan the Y’vusi, he sacrificed there. ²⁹ For at that time the tabernacle of Adonai, which Moshe had made in the desert, together with the altar for burnt offerings, were in the high place at Giv‘on. ³⁰ But David could not go into its presence to consult God, because the sword of the angel of Adonai had struck him with terror.

22 Then David said, “This is the house of Adonai, God; and this is the altar Isra’el is to use for burnt offerings.” ² David ordered that the foreigners in the land of Isra’el should be assembled, and he appointed stone-workers to shape stones for building the house of God. ³ David prepared a large store of iron from which to make nails and clamps for the gateway doors and, a quantity of bronze too great to weigh, ⁴ and cedar logs beyond numbering — because the Tzidonim and the people from Tzor brought cedar logs in abundance to David.

⁵ David said, “Shlomo my son is young and inexperienced, while the house to be built for Adonai must be so magnificent and splendid that its fame and glory will be known in every country; so I will make preparations for him.” Therefore David made extensive preparations before his death. ⁶ Then he summoned Shlomo his son and charged him to build a house for Adonai, the God of Isra’el. ⁷ “My son,” said David to Shlomo, “my heart was set on building a house for the name of Adonai my God. ⁸ But a message from Adonai came to me, ‘You have shed much blood and fought great wars. You are not to build a house for my name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth in my sight. ⁹ But you will have a son who will be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies that surround him; for his name is to be Shlomo, and during his reign I will give peace ^[b] and quiet to Isra’el. ¹⁰ It is he who will build a house for my name. He will be my son and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Isra’el forever.’

¹¹ “Now, my son, may Adonai be with you and give you success as you build the house of Adonai your God, in keeping with what he said about you. ¹² May Adonai give you common sense and understanding, and may he give you his orders concerning Isra’el, so that you will observe the Torah of Adonai your God. ¹³ Then you will succeed, if you take care to obey the laws and rulings that Adonai ordered Moshe concerning Isra’el. Be strong, be bold; don’t be afraid or become discouraged!

¹⁴ “Now look: despite my difficulties, I have prepared for the house of Adonai 3,300 tons of gold, 33,000 tons of silver, and so much bronze and iron that it can’t be weighed. I’ve also prepared timber and stone, and you can add to it. ¹⁵ Moreover, you have plenty of workers — quarrymen, stone-workers, lumbermen, and all kinds of skilled craftsmen to do whatever has to be done with ¹⁶ the gold, silver, bronze and iron — they’re beyond number. So get up, and get to work! And may Adonai be with you.”

¹⁷ David also ordered all the leaders of Isra’el to help Shlomo his son: ¹⁸ “Isn’t Adonai your God with you? Hasn’t he given you rest on every side? For he has put the inhabitants of the land under my power — the land has been subdued before Adonai and his people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and being on seeking Adonai your God. Get up, and build the sanctuary for Adonai, God. Then you can bring the ark for the covenant of Adonai and the holy articles of God into the house that will be built for the name of Adonai.”