1 AND again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.
3 And Joab said unto the king, Now the Lord thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?
4 Notwithstanding the king’s word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
5 And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:
6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan, and about to Zidon,
7 And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beer-sheba.
8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
10 And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.
16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.
20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.
24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

1And againe the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and hee mooued Dauid against them, to say, Goe, number Israel and Iudah.

2For the king said to Ioab the captaine of the hoste, which was with him, Goe now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan euen to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.

3And Ioab sayde vnto the King, Now the Lord thy God adde vnto the people (how many soeuer they be) an hundred folde, and that the eyes of my lorde the king may see it: but why doeth my lord the king delight in this thing?

4Notwithstanding, the kings word preuailed against Ioab, and against the captaines of the hoste: and Ioab and the captaines of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.

5 And they passed ouer Iordane, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the citie that lieth in the midst of the riuer of Gad, and toward Iazer.

6Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-Hodshi; and they came to Dan-Iaan, and about to Zidon,

7And came to the strong holde of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hiuites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the South of Iudah, euen to Beer-sheba.

8So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Ierusalem at the ende of nine moneths, and twentie dayes.

9And Ioab gaue vp the summe of the number of the people vnto the king, and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drewe the sword: and the men of Iudah were fiue hundred thousand men.

10 And Dauids heart smote him, after that hee had numbred the people: and Dauid sayde vnto the Lord, I haue sinned greatly in that I haue done: and nowe I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquitie of thy seruant, for I haue done very foolishly.

11For when Dauid was vp in the morning, the word of the Lord came vnto the Prophet Gad Dauids Seer, saying,

12Goe and say vnto Dauid, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things; chuse thee one of them, that I may doe it vnto thee.

13So Gad came to Dauid, and told him, and said vnto him, Shall seuen yeeres of famine come vnto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three moneths before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three dayes pestilence in thy land? Now aduise, and see what answere I shall returne to him that sent me.

14And Dauid saide vnto Gad, I am in a great strait: let vs fall now into the hand of the Lord (for his mercies are great,) and let me not fall into the hand of man.

15 So the Lord sent a pestilence vpon Israel, from the morning, euen to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan euen to Beersheba, seuentie thousand men.

16And when the Angel stretched out his hand vpon Ierusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the euill, and said to the Angel that destroyed the people, It is ynough: stay now thine hand. And the Angel of the Lord was by the threshing place of Araunah the Iebusite.

17And Dauid spake vnto the Lord when he saw the Angel that smote the people, and said, Loe, I haue sinned, and I haue done wickedly: but these sheepe, what haue they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against mee, and against my fathers house.

18 And Gad came that day to Dauid, and said vnto him, Goe vp, reare an Altar vnto the Lord, in the threshing floore of Araunah the Iebusite.

19And Dauid, according to the saying of Gad, went vp, as the Lord commanded.

20And Araunah looked, and saw the King and his seruants comming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himselfe before the King on his face vpon the ground.

21And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the King come to his seruant? and Dauid saide, To buy the threshing floore of thee, to build an Altar vnto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

22And Araunah said vnto Dauid, Let my lord the King take and offer vp what seemeth good vnto him: Beholde, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments, and other instruments of the oxen for wood.

23All these things did Araunah, as a king, giue vnto the King: and Araunah saide vnto the King, The Lord thy God accept thee.

24And the King said vnto Araunah, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings vnto the Lord my God, of that which doeth cost mee nothing. So Dauid bought the threshing floore, and the oxen, for fiftie shekels of siluer.

25Aud Dauid built there an Altar vnto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings, and peace offerings: so the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

I == 2nd Sam 21:2 ; 1st Chr 21:1 ; 27:23-24 ; James 1:13-14

II == Judg 20:1 ; Jer 17:5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V == Num 32:1 , 3 ; Deut 2:36 ; Josh 13:9 , 16

 

 

VI == Josh 19:28 , 47 ; Judg 18:28-29

 

 

 

 

 

 

IX == 1st Chr 21:5

 

 

 

X == 1st Sam 13:13 ; 24:5 ; 2nd Sam 12:13

 

 

 

XI == 1st Sam 9:9 ; 22:5 ; 1st Chr 29:29

 

 

 

XIII == 1st Chr 21:12

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == Ps 103:8 , 13-14 ; 119:156 ; Isa 47:6 ; Zech 1:15

 

XV == 1st Chr 21:14 ; 27:24

 

 

XVI == Gen 6:6 ; Ex 12:23 ; 1st Sam 15:11 ; 2nd Sam 24:18 ; 1st Chr 21:15 ; 2nd Chr 3:1 ; Joel 2:13-14

 

XVII == 1st Chr 21:17

 

 

 

XVIII == 1st Chr 21:18

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXI == Gen 23:8-16 ; Num 16:48 , 50

 

 

 

XXII == 1st Kings 19:21

 

 

 

XXIII == Ezek 20:40-41

 

XXIV == 1st Chr 21:24-25

 

 

 

 

XXV == 2nd Sam 21:14 ; 24:2

 

 

1 The LORD'S anger against Israel flared again, and he incited David against the Israelites by prompting him to number Israel and Judah.

2 Accordingly the king said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him, "Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the people, that I may know their number."

3 But Joab said to the king: "May the LORD your God increase the number of people a hundredfold for your royal majesty to see it with his own eyes. But why does it please my lord the king to order a thing of this kind?"

4 The king, however, overruled Joab and the leaders of the army, so they left the king's presence in order to register the people of Israel.

5 Crossing the Jordan, they began near Aroer, south of the city in the wadi, and went in the direction of Gad toward Jazer.

6 They continued on to Gilead and to the district below Mount Hermon. Then they proceeded to Dan; from there they turned toward Sidon,

7 going to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and ending up at Beer-sheba in the Negeb of Judah.

8 Thus they toured the whole country, reaching Jerusalem again after nine months and twenty days.

9 Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered: in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service; in Judah, five hundred thousand.

10 Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people, and said to the LORD: "I have sinned grievously in what I have done. But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of your servant, for I have been very foolish."

11 When David rose in the morning, the LORD had spoken to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying:

12 "Go and say to David, 'This is what the LORD says: I offer you three alternatives; choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you.'"

13 Gad then went to David to inform him. He asked: "Do you want a three years' famine to come upon your land, or to flee from your enemy three months while he pursues you, or to have a three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what I must reply to him who sent me.

14 David answered Gad: "I am in very serious difficulty. Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful; but let me not fall by the hand of man."

15 Thus David chose the pestilence. Now it was the time of the wheat harvest when the plague broke out among the people. (The LORD then sent a pestilence over Israel from morning until the time appointed, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba died.)

16 But when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD regretted the calamity and said to the angel causing the destruction among the people, "Enough now! Stay your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the LORD: "It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have they done? Punish me and my kindred."

18 On the same day Gad went to David and said to him, "Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

19 Following Gad's bidding, David went up as the LORD had commanded.

20 Now Araunah looked down and noticed the king and his servants coming toward him while he was threshing wheat. So he went out and paid homage to the king, with face to the ground.

21 Then Araunah asked, "Why does my lord the king come to his servant?" David replied, "To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be checked among the people."

22 But Araunah said to David: "Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever he may wish. Here are oxen for holocausts, and threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for wood.

23 All this does Araunah give to the king." Araunah then said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept your offering."

24 The king, however, replied to Araunah, "No, I must pay you for it, for I cannot offer to the LORD my God holocausts that cost nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty silver shekels.

25 Then David built an altar there to the LORD, and offered holocausts and peace offerings. The LORD granted relief to the country, and the plague was checked in Israel.  

V 1-3 This story was joined probably at one time to 2 Sam 21:1-14.

v 1,2. Just as God allowed Satan to put it into the heart of Judas to betray Christ, so He allowed him to provoke David to sin in numbering the people, 1 Chr. 21:1. In both cases, God allowed evil that His will would be done. The specific sin or sins of the people are not stated, but David was numbering them in pride, not because the Lord had commanded it. This was an affront to the Lord, who promised they would become numerous, and had provided all the manpower needed. Another factor of the sin may be that David did not ask for ransom, as required in Ex. 30:12 so experience plague.

v 3,4. Joab was very observant and saw through David’s pride. He protested, but as king, David’s word prevailed, so Joab and others reluctantly followed his orders.

v 5-9. They began east of the Jordan going north to Dan, then circled down the west side through the former Canaanite lands to the south, then east and back to Jerusalem. This was time consuming and wasted nearly 10 months. Here they count 800,000 soldiers of Israel, but 1 Chr. 21:5 gives 1,100,000 This would include the standing army, twelve units of 24,000 each plus 12,000 specially assigned to the chariot cities and Jerusalem, 2 Chr. 1:14. Add that 300,000 to the 800,000 and it comes out 1,100,000. The men of Judah were 500,000, but 1 Chr. lists only 470,000, because they didn’t list the 30,000 man standing army of Judah. Levites not numbered & Joab was repulsed. God stopped before he counted Benjamin,1 Chr. 21:6; 27:23,24.

v 10-14. In the night after the report came back, David’s conscience spoke to him. He realized he had done a sinful and foolish thing and immediately asked forgiveness. In the morning the Lord sent the prophet Gad with three choices of chastening. David had been proud of his number of soldiers, so the Lord is going to reduce that number. Seven years of famine is probably correctly recorded as three years, 1 Chr. 21:12. David had fled enough that he did not want to fall into the hands of enemies, the nation was just recovering from famine, 21:1, so he chose to throw himself entirely on the mercy of the Lord. This may have implied acceptance of the three days pestilence. In famine, the king could obtain better supplies. In pestilence, his family is as vulnerable as any other. (Some think he left choice between famine and  pestilence to the Lord.)V 10 The narrative supposes that since the people belonged to the Lord rather than to the king, only the Lord should know their exact number.

 

v 15-17.  If lack of taking a ransom from those numbered is involved, the Lord did as He said in Ex. 30:12  by sending pestilence, or plague. The angel had destroyed 70,000, over half of those numbered, and is poised to strike Jerusalem. When David and the elders, all clothed in sackcloth, 1 Chr. 21:16, saw it, he begged the Lord to lay his sin of numbering the people on himself and his family, but to spare the people who were innocent of what he had done. That the Lord repented 1 Chr, 21:7 does not mean He changed His mind, but He changed His way of dealing. V 17 Before this verse; the Qumran manuscript gives the fuller text of 1 Chron 21:16 an alternative to the words When David saw the angel who was striking the people.

 

 

v 18-25. The angel told David through Gad to make an altar at the threshing floor where the angel was stopped. This was on Mount Moriah, the place at which the Lord stopped Abraham from slaying Isaac. David immediately made arrangement with Araunah (Ornan), an original inhabitant of Jerusalem, to buy the land and all that was needed for sacrifice. David would not accept it as a gift, making sacrifice meaningless. The fifty shekels of silver here was only for the oxen and threshing floor. The 600 shekels of gold, 1 Chr. 21:25, was for the surrounding area on which the temple and courts were later built. David was convinced by this experience, that the Lord wanted the ark and temple here, not at Gibeon. After sacrificing, David offered peace offerings.
This was another case of fire being sent from heaven, 1 Chron. 21:26.