2 Samuel 24:18–25

David Builds an Altar

24:18–25pp—1Ch 21:18–26

¹⁸On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah^l the Jebusite.” ¹⁹So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. ²⁰When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”^m

²²Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxenⁿ for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. ²³Your Majesty, Araunah^d gives^o all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

²⁴But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”^p

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels^eq of silver for them. ²⁵David built an altar^r to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer^s in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.