1 Chronicles 21:18–28

David’s Altar

^18aThen the angel of the Lord ¹commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁹So David went up at the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the Lord.

²⁰Now Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. And Ornan was threshing wheat.

²¹As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out from the threshing floor and prostrated himself ¹before David with his face to the ground.

²²Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the ¹site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to the Lord; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be restrained from the people.”

²³Ornan 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 burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I will give it all.”

²⁴But 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, or offer a burnt offering ¹which costs me nothing.”

²⁵So ^aDavid gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the ¹site.

²⁶Then David built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the Lord and ^aHe answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷The Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifice there.