1 Chronicles 20–22

Rabbah is Conquered

20It ^ahappened ¹in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the armed forces and ravaged the country of the people of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But ^bDavid stayed at Jerusalem. And ^cJoab defeated Rabbah and overthrew it. ²Then David ^dtook their king’s crown from his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the ²spoil of the city in great abundance. ³And he brought out the people who were in it, and ³put them to work with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. So David did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

Philistine Giants Destroyed

⁴Now it happened afterward ^ethat war broke out at ⁴Gezer with the Philistines, at which time ^fSibbechai the Hushathite killed ⁵Sippai, who was one of the sons of ⁶the giant. And they were subdued.

⁵Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of ⁷Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s ^gbeam.

⁶Yet again ^hthere was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to ⁸the giant. ⁷So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of ⁹Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

⁸These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

The Census of Israel and Judah

21Now ^aSatan stood up against Israel, and moved David to ¹number Israel. ²So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, ^band bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”

³And 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 lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”

⁴Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. ⁵Then 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. ^6cBut he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ²word was abominable to Joab.

⁷And ³God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. ⁸So David said to God, ^d“I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; ^ebut now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

⁹Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s ^fseer, saying, ¹⁰“Go and tell David, ^gsaying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”

¹¹So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, ^12heither ⁴three 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 Lord—the plague in the land, with the ⁵angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹³And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His ⁱmercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁴So the Lord sent a ^jplague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. ¹⁵And God sent ⁶an ^kangel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As ⁷he was destroying, the Lord looked and ^lrelented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain ⁸your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the ^mthreshing floor of ⁹Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶Then David lifted his eyes and ⁿsaw 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. ¹⁷And 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 ^osheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

¹⁸Therefore, the ^pangel 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. ¹⁹So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord. ²⁰Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. ²¹So 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. ²²Then David said to Ornan, ¹“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.”

²³But 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.”

²⁴Then 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.” ²⁵So ^qDavid gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. ²⁶And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and ^rHe answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. ^29sFor 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 ^tGibeon. ³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

David Prepares to Build the Temple

22Then David said, ^a“This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” ²So David commanded to gather the ^baliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to ^ccut hewn stones to build the house of God. ³And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance ^dbeyond measure, ⁴and cedar trees in abundance; for the ^eSidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵Now David said, ^f“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.

⁶Then he called for his son Solomon, and ¹charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, ^git was in my mind to build a house ^hto the name of the Lord my God; ⁸but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁱ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. ^9jBehold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him ^krest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be ²Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ^10lHe shall build a house for My name, and ^mhe shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹Now, my son, may ⁿthe Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. ¹²Only may the Lord ^ogive you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13pThen you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord ³charged Moses concerning Israel. ^qBe strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron ^rbeyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. ¹⁵Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. ¹⁶Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and ^sthe Lord be with you.”

¹⁷David also commanded all the ^tleaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸“Is not the Lord your God with you? ^uAnd has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to ^vbring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built ^wfor the name of the Lord.”