1 Chronicles 21

The Census of Israel and Judah

1 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it. 3 And Joab answered, May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lords servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?4 Nevertheless the kings word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem.5 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword.6 But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the kings word was abominable to Joab.7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.8 So David said to God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.9 Then the Lord spoke to Gad, Davids seer, saying,10 Go and tell David, saying, Thus says the Lord: I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.11 So Gad came to David and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Choose for yourself,12 either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lordthe plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel. Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.13 And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.14 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the Lord looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, It is enough; now restrain your hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.16 Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.17 And David said to God, Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my fathers house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.18 Therefore, the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord.20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat.21 So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground.22 Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the Lord. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.23 But Ornan said to David, Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.24 Then King David said to Ornan, No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.25 So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.26 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering.27 So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.29 For the tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon.30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

1 CHRONICLES 21

David Counts the People

(2 Samuel 24.1-9)

1 Satan decided to cause trouble for Israel by making David think it was a good idea to find out how many people there were in Israel and Judah.

2 David told Joab and the army commanders, “Count everyone in Israel, from the town of Beersheba in the south all the way north to Dan. Then I will know how many people can serve in my army.”

3 Joab answered, “Your Majesty, even if the [Lord] made your kingdom a hundred times larger, you would still rule everyone in it. Why do you need to know how many soldiers there are? Don't you think that would make the whole nation angry?”
4 But David would not change his mind. And so Joab went everywhere in Israel and Judah and counted the people. He returned to Jerusalem 5 and told David that the total number of men who could serve in the army was 1,100,000 in Israel and 470,000 in Judah.

6 Joab refused to include anyone from the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he still disagreed with David's orders.

God Punishes Israel

(2 Samuel 24.10-17)

8 David prayed, “I am your servant. But what I did was stupid and terribly wrong. Please forgive me.”
9 The [Lord] said to Gad, one of David's prophets,

10 “Tell David that I will punish him in one of three ways. But he will have to choose which one it will be.”

11 Gad went to David and told him:
You must choose how the [Lord] will punish you:

12 Will there be three years when the land won't grow enough food for its people? Or will your enemies constantly defeat you for three months? Or will the [Lord] send a horrible disease to strike your land for three days? Think about it and decide, because I have to give your answer to God who sent me.

13 David was miserable and said, “It's a terrible choice to make! But the [Lord] is kind, and I'd rather be punished by him than by anyone else.”
14 So the [Lord] sent a horrible disease on Israel, and 70,000 Israelites died.

15 Then he sent an angel to destroy the city of Jerusalem. But just as the angel was about to do that, the [Lord] felt sorry for all the suffering he had caused the people, and he told the angel, “Stop! They have suffered enough.” This happened at the threshing place that belonged to Araunaht the Jebusite.
16 David saw the [Lord]'s angel in the air, holding a sword over Jerusalem. He and the leaders of Israel, who were all wearing sackcloth, t bowed with their faces to the ground,

17 and David prayed, “It's my fault! I sinned by ordering the people to be counted. They have done nothing wrong—they are innocent sheep. [Lord] God, please punish me and my family. Don't let the disease wipe out your people.”

David Buys //Araunah's Threshing Place

(2 Samuel 24.18-25)

19 David followed the [Lord]'s instructions.
20 Araunah and his four sons were threshing wheat at the time, and when they saw the angel, the four sons ran to hide.

21 Just then, David arrived, and when Araunah saw him, he stopped his work and bowed down.

22 David said, “Would you sell me your threshing place, so I can build an altar on it to the [Lord]? Then this disease will stop killing the people. I'm willing to pay whatever you say it's worth.”

23 Araunah answered, “Take it, Your Majesty, and do whatever you want with it. I'll even give you the oxen for the sacrifice and the wheat for the grain sacrifice. And you can use the threshing-boardst for the fire. It's all yours!”

24 But David replied, “No! I want to pay you what they're worth. I can't just take something from you and then offer the [Lord] a sacrifice that cost me nothing.”
25 So David paid Araunah 600 gold coins for his threshing place. 26 David built an altar and offered sacrifices to please the [Lord]t and sacrifices to ask his blessing.t David prayed, and the [Lord] answered him by sending fire down on the altar.

27 Then the [Lord] commanded the angel to put the sword away.t
28 When David saw that the [Lord] had answered his prayer, he offered more sacrifices there at the threshing place, 29-30 because he was afraid of the angel's sword and did not want to go all the way to Gibeon. That's where the sacred tent that Moses had made in the desert was kept, as well as the altar where sacrifices were offered to the [Lord].