1 Chronicles 21–22

David Counts the Israelites

21Satan was against Israel, and he caused David to count the people of Israel. ²So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count all the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. ⁿ Then tell me so I will know how many there are.”

³But Joab said, “May the Lord give the nation a hundred times more people. My master the king, all the Israelites are your servants. Why do you want to do this, my master? You will make Israel guilty of sin.”

⁴But the king commanded Joab, so Joab left and went through all Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. ⁵Joab gave the list of the people to David. There were one million one hundred thousand men in all of Israel who could use the sword, and there were four hundred seventy thousand men in Judah who could use the sword. ⁶But Joab did not count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he didn’t like King David’s order. ⁷David had done something God had said was wrong, so God punished Israel.

⁸Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by what I have done! Now, I beg you to forgive me, your servant, because I have been very foolish.”

⁹The Lord said to Gad, who was David’s seer, ¹⁰“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I offer you three choices. Choose one of them and I will do it.’ ”

¹¹So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Choose for yourself ¹²three years of hunger. Or choose three months of running from your enemies as they chase you with their swords. Or choose three days of punishment from the Lord, in which a terrible disease will spread through the country. The angel of the Lord will go through Israel destroying the people.’ Now, David, decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me.”

¹³David said to Gad, “I am in great trouble. Let the Lord punish me, because the Lord is very merciful. Don’t let my punishment come from human beings.”

¹⁴So the Lord sent a terrible disease on Israel, and seventy thousand people died. ¹⁵God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but when the angel started to destroy it, the Lord saw it and felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. So he said to the angel who was destroying, “That is enough! Put down your arm!” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁶David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord in the sky, holding his sword drawn and pointed at Jerusalem. Then David and the elders bowed facedown on the ground. They were wearing rough cloth to show their grief. ¹⁷David said to God, “I am the one who sinned and did wrong. I gave the order for the people to be counted. These people only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Lord my God, please punish me and my family, but stop the terrible disease that is killing your people.”

¹⁸Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David that he should build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁹So David did what Gad told him to do, in the name of the Lord.

²⁰Araunah was separating the wheat from the straw. When he turned around, he saw the angel. Araunah’s four sons who were with him hid. ²¹David came to Araunah, and when Araunah saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed facedown on the ground before David.

²²David said to him, “Sell me your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord here. Then the terrible disease will stop. Sell it to me for the full price.”

²³Araunah said to David, “Take this threshing floor. My master the king, do anything you want. Look, I will also give you oxen for the whole burnt offerings, the threshing boards for the wood, and wheat for the grain offering. I give everything to you.”

²⁴But King David answered Araunah, “No, I will pay the full price for the land. I won’t take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord. I won’t offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

²⁵So David paid Araunah about fifteen pounds of gold for the place. ²⁶David built an altar to the Lord there and offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. David prayed to the Lord, and he answered him by sending down fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. ²⁷Then the Lord commanded the angel to put his sword back into its holder.

²⁸When David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah, he offered sacrifices there. ²⁹The Holy Tent that Moses made while the Israelites were in the desert and the altar of burnt offerings were in Gibeon at the place of worship. ³⁰But David could not go to the Holy Tent to speak with God, because he was afraid of the angel of the Lord and his sword.

22David said, “The Temple of the Lord God and the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings will be built here.”

David Makes Plans for the Temple

²So David ordered all foreigners living in Israel to gather together. From that group David chose stonecutters to cut stones to be used in building the Temple of God. ³David supplied a large amount of iron to be used for making nails and hinges for the gate doors. He also supplied more bronze than could be weighed, ⁴and he supplied more cedar logs than could be counted. Much of the cedar had been brought to David by the people from Sidon and Tyre.

⁵David said, “We should build a great Temple for the Lord, which will be famous everywhere for its greatness and beauty. But my son Solomon is young. He hasn’t yet learned what he needs to know, so I will prepare for the building of it.” So David got many of the materials ready before he died.

⁶Then David called for his son Solomon and told him to build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷David said to him, “My son, I wanted to build a temple for worshiping the Lord my God. ⁸But the Lord spoke his word to me, ‘David, you have killed many people. You have fought many wars. You cannot build a temple for worship to me, because you have killed many people. ⁹But, you will have a son, a man of peace and rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies around him. His name will be Solomon, ⁿ and I will give Israel peace and quiet while he is king. ¹⁰Solomon will build a temple for worship to me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will make his kingdom strong; someone from his family will rule Israel forever.’ ”

¹¹David said, “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you. May you build a temple for the Lord your God, as he said you would. ¹²He will make you the king of Israel. May the Lord give you wisdom and understanding so you will be able to obey the teachings of the Lord your God. ¹³Be careful to obey the rules and laws the Lord gave Moses for Israel. If you obey them, you will have success. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.

¹⁴“Solomon, I have worked hard getting many of the materials for building the Temple of the Lord. I have supplied about seven and one-half million pounds of gold, about seventy-five million pounds of silver, so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, and wood and stone. You may add to them. ¹⁵You have many workmen—stonecutters, bricklayers, carpenters, and people skilled in every kind of work. ¹⁶They are skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. You have more craftsmen than can be counted. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. ¹⁸David said to them, “The Lord your God is with you. He has given you rest from our enemies. He has handed over to me the people living around us. The Lord and his people are in control of this land. ¹⁹Now give yourselves completely to obeying the Lord your God. Build the holy place of the Lord God; build the Temple for worship to the Lord. Then bring the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord and the holy items that belong to God into the Temple.”