Historical
David Sins by Numbering Israel
21 (A)Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “(B)Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their total count.” 3 But Joab said, “(C)May Yahweh add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” 4 Nevertheless, the king’s word stood strong against Joab. So, Joab went out and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab gave the total count of the [a]census of the people to David. And (D)all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. 6 (E)But he did not [b]number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s [c]command was abominable to Joab.
7 And this thing was displeasing in the sight of God, so He struck Israel. 8 Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. (F)But now, please take away the iniquity of Your slave, for I have acted very foolishly.”
9 And Yahweh spoke to (G)Gad, David’s (H)seer, saying, 10 “Go and speak to David, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I [d]am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, and I will do that to you.”’” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Take for yourself 12 (I)either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your adversaries, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of Yahweh, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ So now, see what word I should return to Him who sent me.” 13 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me now fall into the hand of Yahweh, (J)for His compassions are exceedingly abundant. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
14 (K)So Yahweh [e]sent a pestilence against Israel; and 70,000 men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, Yahweh saw and [f](L)relented concerning the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough! Now relax your hand.” And the angel of Yahweh was standing by the threshing floor of [g]Ornan the Jebusite. 16 Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, (M)covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 And David said to God, “Is it not I who [h]commanded to number the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done a great evil; (N)but these sheep, what have they done? O Yahweh my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”
David Erects an Altar
18 (O)Then the angel of Yahweh said to Gad to say to David, that David should go up and erect an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of Yahweh. 20 Now Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. And Ornan was threshing wheat. 21 Then David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David, and went out from the threshing floor and bowed his [i]face to the ground [j]before David. 22 Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the [k]site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to Yahweh; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be checked from being upon the people.” 23 And Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself; and let my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give everything.” 24 However, King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not lift up what is yours to Yahweh, or offer a burnt offering [l]which costs me nothing.” 25 So (P)David gave Ornan [m]600 shekels of gold by weight for the [n]site. 26 Then David built there an altar to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to Yahweh and (Q)He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. 27 Then Yahweh spoke to the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.
28 At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 (R)Now the tabernacle of Yahweh, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high place at Gibeon at that time. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of Yahweh.
Preparation to Build Yahweh’s House
22 Then David said, “(S)This is the house of Yahweh God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
2 So David said to gather (T)the sojourners who were in the land of Israel, and (U)he [o]appointed [p]stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. 3 And David (V)prepared large quantities of iron [q]to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more (W)bronze than could be weighed; 4 and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for (X)the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. 5 And David said, “My son (Y)Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh shall be highly exalted, for a name and beauty throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.
Solomon to Build Yahweh’s House
6 Then (Z)he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon, “(AA)My son, [r]I had it within my heart to build a house to the name of Yahweh my God. 8 But the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ‘(AB)You have shed much blood and have [s]waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. 9 Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and (AC)I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for (AD)his name shall be [t]Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 (AE)He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be a son to Me and I will be a father to him; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 Now, my son, (AF)Yahweh be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of Yahweh your God just as He has spoken concerning you. 12 (AG)Only Yahweh give you insight and understanding, and give you command over Israel, so that you may (AH)keep the law of Yahweh your God. 13 (AI)Then you will succeed, if you are careful to do the statutes and the judgments which Yahweh commanded Moses concerning Israel. (AJ)Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Now behold, [u]with great pains I have prepared for the house of Yahweh (AK)100,000 [v]talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and (AL)bronze and iron beyond weight, for [w]they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them. 15 Moreover, there are many of those who do the work with you, hewers of stone and craftsmen of stone and wood, and all men who are [x]wise in every kind of work. 16 Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no number. Arise and work, and may (AM)Yahweh be with you.”
17 (AN)David also commanded all the officials of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, 18 “Is not Yahweh your God with you? And (AO)has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before Yahweh and before His people. 19 Now (AP)give your heart and your soul to seek Yahweh your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, (AQ)so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built (AR)for the name of Yahweh.”
Solomon Made King over Israel
23 (AS)Now David became old and full of days, (AT)and he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.
The Work of the Levites
3 (AU)And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and (AV)their number by [y]census of men was 38,000. 4 Of these, 24,000 were (AW)to direct the work of the house of Yahweh; and 6,000 were (AX)officers and judges, 5 and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and (AY)4,000 were praising Yahweh with the instruments which [z]David made for giving praise. 6 And David divided them into divisions (AZ)according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
The Sons of Gershon
7 Of the Gershonites were [aa]Ladan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel, three.
9 The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three.
These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan.
10 The sons of Shimei were Jahath, [ab]Zina, Jeush, and Beriah.
These four were the sons of Shimei.
11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became a father’s household, one [ac]unit.
The Sons of Kohath
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
13 (BA)The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And (BB)Aaron was separated in order to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, (BC)to offer offerings up in smoke before Yahweh, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever.
14 But as for (BD)Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The [ad]son of Gershom was [ae]Shebuel the chief.
17 The [af]son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
18 The [ag]son of Izhar was [ah]Shelomith the chief.
19 The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.
The Sons of Merari
21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, so their brothers, the sons of Kish, took them up as wives.
23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
The Service of the Levites
24 (BE)These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were [ai]counted, in the number of names by their [aj]census, doing the work for the service of the house of Yahweh, (BF)from twenty years old and upward. 25 For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, (BG)has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 Also, (BH)the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. 28 For their station is to be on hand for the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of Yahweh, in the courts and in the chambers and in the cleansing of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, 29 (BI)and with the showbread, and (BJ)the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or (BK)what is made on the griddle, or (BL)what is well stirred, and (BM)all measures of volume and size. 30 And they are to stand every morning to thank and to praise Yahweh, and likewise at evening, 31 and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh, (BN)on the sabbaths, the new moons and (BO)the appointed times in the number set by the judgments concerning them, continually before Yahweh. 32 Thus (BP)they shall keep responsibility of the tent of meeting, and responsibility of the holy place, and (BQ)responsibility of the sons of Aaron their [ak]relatives, for the service of the house of Yahweh.
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