Historical
David’s Unauthorized Census(A)
21 Then Satan attacked Israel by inciting David to enumerate a census of Israel. 2 David ordered Joab and the commanders of the army,[a] “Go take a census of Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan, and bring me a report so I can be aware of the total number.”
3 But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the population of his people a hundredfold! Your majesty,[b] all of them are your majesty’s servants, aren’t they? So why should your majesty demand this? Why should he bring guilt to Israel?”
4 But the king’s order overruled Joab, so Joab left, traveled throughout all of Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem 5 to report the total population count to David. Throughout all of Israel there were 1,100,000 men trained for war.[c] In Judah there were 470,000 men trained for war. 6 Levi and Benjamin were not included in the census, because what the king had commanded was unethical to Joab.
David Chooses His Punishment(B)
7 God considered this behavior[d] to be evil, so he attacked Israel. 8 David responded to God, “I sinned greatly by behaving this way. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly.”
9 So the Lord responded through Gad, David’s seer. 10 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I’m holding three choices out for you: pick one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.”’”[e]
11 Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make a choice for yourself: 12 Either three years of famine, or three months of reversals[f] as you are swept away by your enemies while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days with the sword of the Lord, consisting of pestilence infecting the land, with the angel of the Lord wreaking destruction from border to border throughout all[g] of Israel.’ Decide right now what I am to answer to the one who sent me.”
13 So David replied to Gad, “This is a very bad choice for me to make! Let me now please fall into the hand of the Lord, because his mercy is very great, but may I never fall into human hands!”
14 Then the Lord sent a pestilence to Israel, and 70,000 men died in Israel. 15 God also sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as he was about to do so, the Lord looked and withdrew[h] the calamity by saying to the destroying angel, “Enough! Stop what you’re doing!”[i]
So the angel of the Lord remained standing near the threshing floor that belonged to Ornan[j] the Jebusite.[k] 16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
17 David told God, “Wasn’t I the one who ordered the census of the population? Wasn’t it I who sinned and acted wickedly? Now as for these sheep, what have they done? Lord God, please let your hand be against me and my ancestral household, but don’t let your people be ravaged by plague!”
David’s Altar(C)
18 The angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David that David was to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor that belonged to Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up, obeying Gad’s directive that he had spoken in the name of the Lord. 20 Ornan turned around and saw the angel. While his four sons with him ran away to hide, Ornan continued to thresh wheat. 21 As David approached Ornan, Ornan looked around and observed David, left the threshing floor, and fell to the ground before David with his face on the ground.
22 David told Ornan, “Give me the threshing floor as a site to build an altar to the Lord on it. Give it to me at its full price, so the plague may be averted from the people.”
23 But Ornan replied to David, “Take it! Let your majesty the king do whatever seems like a good idea to him. Look here! I’m giving the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing machinery for the wood, and the wheat for a grain offering. I’m giving all of it.”
24 But King David told Ornan, “No. I will buy them for the full price[l] because I will not offer to the Lord what is yours or offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
25 So David paid Ornan 600 shekels weight worth in gold for the site, 26 built an altar to the Lord there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called out to the Lord, and he answered him from heaven with fire on the altar of burnt offerings. 27 After this, the Lord spoke to the angel, who then sheathed his sword.
28 From that time on, after David had observed that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he made his sacrifices there. 29 Meanwhile, the tent of the Lord that Moses had crafted in the desert, along with the altar of burnt offerings, were being stored at the high place in Gibeon at that time, 30 but David was not going before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword carried by the angel of the Lord. 22 1 David said, “This is where the Lord God’s Temple will be, along with the altar of burnt offerings for Israel.”
David’s Plan to Build the Temple
2 David subsequently issued orders to conscript the resident aliens who lived in the land of Israel and appointed stonecutters to prepare stones for building a temple for God. 3 David also provisioned abundant supplies of iron for nails to build the doors for gates and to build clamps. Furthermore, he provided so much bronze it wasn’t inventoried, 4 as well as an innumerable amount of cedar logs, since the Sidonians and Tyrians brought vast amounts of cedar to David.
5 David thought, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced. The temple that will be built for the Lord is to be magnificent, well known, and internationally honored, so I will complete preparations for it.” So before his death, David finished providing a great quantity of materials for it.
David Commissions Solomon to Build the Temple
6 Later, David called for his son Solomon and directed him to build a temple to the Lord God of Israel. 7 David addressed Solomon: “I have attempted to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God. 8 But this message from the Lord came to me, telling me
‘You have shed a lot of blood and fought great battles. You won’t be building a house for my name, since you have shed so much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But look! A son born to you will live comfortably,[m] because I will give him rest from all his enemies that surround him on every side, since his name will be “Solomon”—I will give peace and quiet for Israel during his lifetime. 10 He will build a temple to my name. He will be a son to me, I myself will be a father to him, and I will secure his royal throne in Israel forever.’
11 So now, my son, may the Lord be with you, so that you are successful in constructing the Temple of the Lord your God, just as he has spoken about you.
12 “Only may the Lord give you discretion and understanding as he places you in charge over Israel, so you can keep the Law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will be successful, if you keep on observing the statutes and ordinances that the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong, be courageous, and never give in to fear or dismay. 14 At great effort I have provided for the Temple of the Lord 100,000 gold talents,[n] 1,000,000 silver talents,[o] as well as bronze and iron beyond calculation, since there is so much of it. I’ve also provided timber and stone, but you’ll need to obtain more. 15 You already have plenty of workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and an innumerable group of artisans who are skilled at working in 16 gold, silver, bronze, and iron. So begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”
17 David also issued these orders to all of the leaders of Israel to assist his son Solomon: 18 “Isn’t the Lord your God with you? Hasn’t he surrounded you with comfort? He has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my control, and the land lies subdued both in the Lord’s presence and before his people. 19 So set your minds and hearts to seek the Lord your God, to get up, and to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be stored in a temple built for the name of the Lord.”
The Levitical Divisions
23 After David had reached old age, and had completed his reign,[p] he set his son Solomon as king over Israel. 2 David then gathered together all of the leaders of Israel, including the priests and descendants of Levi. 3 descendants of Levi 30 years old and above were counted for a total of 38,000. 4 “24,000 of these,” David said, “are to be set in charge of the work of the Temple of the Lord, with 6,000 serving as officers and judges, 5 with 4,000 gatekeepers, and with 4,000 offering praises to the Lord with the musical instruments that I have had crafted.”
6 David divided them into divisions based on Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, Levi’s sons.
An Abbreviated Genealogy of Levi’s Sons
7 The descendants of Gershon were Ladan and Shimei. 8 The three descendants of Ladan included[q] Jehiel (their chief), Zetham, and Joel. 9 The three descendants of Shimei included Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. These were the heads of families of Ladan.
10 The descendants of Shimei included Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath served as chief and Zizah was second in rank, but since Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, they were enrolled as a single family unit.
12 The four descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13 The descendants of Amram included Aaron and Moses. Aaron had been set apart to consecrate the most holy things, with the intent that he and his sons should present offerings in the Lord’s presence forever, ministering to him and pronouncing blessings in his name forever.
14 Meanwhile, as for Moses the man of God, his sons were considered among the tribe of Levi. 15 The descendants of Moses included Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The descendants of Gershom included Shebuel as their chief.
17 The descendants of Eliezer included Rehabiah as their chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.
18 The descendants of Izhar included Shelomith their chief.
19 The descendants of Hebron included Jeriah their chief, Amariah their second in rank, Jahaziel their third, and Jekameam their fourth.
20 The descendants of Uzziel included Micah their chief and Isshiah their second in rank.
21 The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi. The descendants of Mahli included Eleazar and Kish, 22 but Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters. Their relatives (the descendants of Kish) married them. 23 The three descendants of Mushi included Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.
24 These were the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral households, with family heads documented according to the names of persons 20 years and older who were appointed to perform work in service to the Temple of the Lord.
25 For David had said “The Lord God of Israel has granted rest to his people, and he has taken Israel as his eternal residence. 26 Therefore[r] the descendants of Levi are no longer to carry the Tent or its service implements.”[s] 27 Since, according to David’s final instructions, the list above[t] contains the total number of descendants of Levi from the age of 20 years and upward, 28 David issued these orders:[u]
“Instead, they are to assist by lending a hand to the descendants of Aaron regarding service to the Temple of the Lord relating to the courts, the chambers, purification of everything pertaining to holiness, and to anything else pertaining to service on behalf of the Temple of God, 29 including assisting with the rows of showbread, selecting flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened bread, baked offerings, and oil-based offerings, no matter what the quantity or sizes. 30 They are to take their stand morning by morning, thanking and praising the Lord right through until the evening, 31 whenever burnt offerings are presented to the Lord, whether on Sabbaths, New Moons, or scheduled festivals, regularly in the Lord’s presence in accordance with the number required to conduct their service. 32 By doing this, they will fulfill their obligation as trustees over the Tent of Assembly and the Sanctuary, attending to the needs of[v] their relatives, who are descendants of Aaron, in keeping with their service on behalf of the Temple of the Lord.”
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