Chronological
David Counts His Army
24 The Lord was angry with Israel again, and he caused David to turn against the Israelites. He said, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”
2 So King David said to Joab, the commander of the army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,[a] and count the people. Then I will know how many there are.”
3 But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God give you a hundred times more people, and may my master the king live to see this happen. Why do you want to do this?”
4 But the king commanded Joab and the commanders of the army, so they left the king to count the Israelites.
5 After crossing the Jordan River, they camped near Aroer on the south side of the city in the ravine. They went through Gad and on to Jazer. 6 Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim Hodshi and to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon. 7 They went to the strong, walled city of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went to southern Judah, to Beersheba. 8 After nine months and twenty days, they had gone through all the land. Then they came back to Jerusalem.
9 Joab gave the list of the people to the king. There were eight hundred thousand men in Israel who could use the sword and five hundred thousand men in Judah.
10 David felt ashamed after he had counted the people. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by what I have done. Lord, I beg you to forgive me, your servant, because I have been very foolish.”
11 When David got up in the morning, the Lord spoke his word to Gad, who was a prophet and David’s seer. 12 The Lord told Gad, “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I offer you three choices. Choose one of them and I will do it to you.’”
13 So Gad went to David and said to him, “Should three years of hunger come to you and your land? Or should your enemies chase you for three months? Or should there be three days of disease in your land? Think about it. Then decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me.”
14 David said to Gad, “I am in great trouble. Let the Lord punish us, because the Lord is very merciful. Don’t let my punishment come from human beings!”
15 So the Lord sent a terrible disease on Israel. It began in the morning and continued until the chosen time to stop. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand people died. 16 When the angel raised his arm toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “That is enough! Put down your arm!” The angel of the Lord was then by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel that killed the people, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who sinned and did wrong. These people only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Please punish me and my family.”
18 That day Gad came to David and said, “Go and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David did what Gad told him to do, just as the Lord commanded.
20 Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming to him. So he went out and bowed facedown on the ground before the king. 21 He said, “Why has my master the king come to me?”
David answered, “To buy the threshing floor from you so I can build an altar to the Lord. Then the terrible disease will stop.”
22 Araunah said to David, “My master and king, you may take anything you want for a sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the whole burnt offering and the threshing boards and the yokes for the wood. 23 My king, I give everything to you.” Araunah also said to the king, “May the Lord your God be pleased with you.”
24 But the king answered Araunah, “No, I will pay you for the land. I won’t offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for one and one-fourth pounds of silver. 25 He built an altar to the Lord there and offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer for the country, and the disease in Israel stopped.
David Counts the Israelites
21 Satan was against Israel, and he caused David to count the people of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count all the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan.[a] Then tell me so I will know how many there are.”
3 But Joab said, “May the Lord give the nation a hundred times more people. My master the king, all the Israelites are your servants. Why do you want to do this, my master? You will make Israel guilty of sin.”
4 But the king commanded Joab, so Joab left and went through all Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. 5 Joab gave the list of the people to David. There were one million one hundred thousand men in all of Israel who could use the sword, and there were four hundred seventy thousand men in Judah who could use the sword. 6 But Joab did not count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he didn’t like King David’s order. 7 David had done something God had said was wrong, so God punished Israel.
8 Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by what I have done! Now, I beg you to forgive me, your servant, because I have been very foolish.”
9 The Lord said to Gad, who was David’s seer, 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I offer you three choices. Choose one of them and I will do it.’”
11 So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Choose for yourself 12 three years of hunger. Or choose three months of running from your enemies as they chase you with their swords. Or choose three days of punishment from the Lord, in which a terrible disease will spread through the country. The angel of the Lord will go through Israel destroying the people.’ Now, David, decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me.”
13 David said to Gad, “I am in great trouble. Let the Lord punish me, because the Lord is very merciful. Don’t let my punishment come from human beings.”
14 So the Lord sent a terrible disease on Israel, and seventy thousand people died. 15 God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but when the angel started to destroy it, the Lord saw it and felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. So he said to the angel who was destroying, “That is enough! Put down your arm!” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord in the sky, holding his sword drawn and pointed at Jerusalem. Then David and the elders bowed facedown on the ground. They were wearing rough cloth to show their grief. 17 David said to God, “I am the one who sinned and did wrong. I gave the order for the people to be counted. These people only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Lord my God, please punish me and my family, but stop the terrible disease that is killing your people.”
18 Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David that he should build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 So David did what Gad told him to do, in the name of the Lord.
20 Araunah was separating the wheat from the straw. When he turned around, he saw the angel. Araunah’s four sons who were with him hid. 21 David came to Araunah, and when Araunah saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed facedown on the ground before David.
22 David said to him, “Sell me your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord here. Then the terrible disease will stop. Sell it to me for the full price.”
23 Araunah said to David, “Take this threshing floor. My master the king, do anything you want. Look, I will also give you oxen for the whole burnt offerings, the threshing boards for the wood, and wheat for the grain offering. I give everything to you.”
24 But King David answered Araunah, “No, I will pay the full price for the land. I won’t take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord. I won’t offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”
25 So David paid Araunah about fifteen pounds of gold for the place. 26 David built an altar to the Lord there and offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. David prayed to the Lord, and he answered him by sending down fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. 27 Then the Lord commanded the angel to put his sword back into its holder.
28 When David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah, he offered sacrifices there. 29 The Holy Tent that Moses made while the Israelites were in the desert and the altar of burnt offerings were in Gibeon at the place of worship. 30 But David could not go to the Holy Tent to speak with God, because he was afraid of the angel of the Lord and his sword.
22 David said, “The Temple of the Lord God and the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings will be built here.”
David Makes Plans for the Temple
2 So David ordered all foreigners living in Israel to gather together. From that group David chose stonecutters to cut stones to be used in building the Temple of God. 3 David supplied a large amount of iron to be used for making nails and hinges for the gate doors. He also supplied more bronze than could be weighed, 4 and he supplied more cedar logs than could be counted. Much of the cedar had been brought to David by the people from Sidon and Tyre.
5 David said, “We should build a great Temple for the Lord, which will be famous everywhere for its greatness and beauty. But my son Solomon is young. He hasn’t yet learned what he needs to know, so I will prepare for the building of it.” So David got many of the materials ready before he died.
6 Then David called for his son Solomon and told him to build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to him, “My son, I wanted to build a temple for worshiping the Lord my God. 8 But the Lord spoke his word to me, ‘David, you have killed many people. You have fought many wars. You cannot build a temple for worship to me, because you have killed many people. 9 But, you will have a son, a man of peace and rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies around him. His name will be Solomon,[b] and I will give Israel peace and quiet while he is king. 10 Solomon will build a temple for worship to me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will make his kingdom strong; someone from his family will rule Israel forever.’”
11 David said, “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you. May you build a temple for the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 He will make you the king of Israel. May the Lord give you wisdom and understanding so you will be able to obey the teachings of the Lord your God. 13 Be careful to obey the rules and laws the Lord gave Moses for Israel. If you obey them, you will have success. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.
14 “Solomon, I have worked hard getting many of the materials for building the Temple of the Lord. I have supplied about seven and one-half million pounds of gold, about seventy-five million pounds of silver, so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, and wood and stone. You may add to them. 15 You have many workmen—stonecutters, bricklayers, carpenters, and people skilled in every kind of work. 16 They are skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. You have more craftsmen than can be counted. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 David said to them, “The Lord your God is with you. He has given you rest from our enemies. He has handed over to me the people living around us. The Lord and his people are in control of this land. 19 Now give yourselves completely to obeying the Lord your God. Build the holy place of the Lord God; build the Temple for worship to the Lord. Then bring the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord and the holy items that belong to God into the Temple.”
Thanksgiving for Escaping Death
A psalm of David. A song for giving the Temple to the Lord.
30 I will praise you, Lord,
because you rescued me.
You did not let my enemies laugh at me.
2 Lord, my God, I prayed to you,
and you healed me.
3 You lifted me out of the grave;
you spared me from going down to the place of the dead.
4 Sing praises to the Lord, you who belong to him;
praise his holy name.
5 His anger lasts only a moment,
but his kindness lasts for a lifetime.
Crying may last for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.
6 When I felt safe, I said,
“I will never fear.”
7 Lord, in your kindness you made my mountain safe.
But when you turned away, I was frightened.
8 I called to you, Lord,
and asked you to have mercy on me.
9 I said, “What good will it do if I die
or if I go down to the grave?
Dust cannot praise you;
it cannot speak about your truth.
10 Lord, hear me and have mercy on me.
Lord, help me.”
11 You changed my sorrow into dancing.
You took away my clothes of sadness,
and clothed me in happiness.
12 I will sing to you and not be silent.
Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.