The Census of Israel and Judah

21 Now aSatan stood up against Israel, and moved David to 1number Israel. 2 So 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.”

3 And 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?”

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

7 And 3God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. 8 So 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.”

9 Then 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.” ’ ”

11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, 12 heither 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.”

13 And 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.”

14 So the Lord sent a jplague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. 15 And 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.

16 Then 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. 17 And 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.”

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

23 But 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.”

24 Then 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.” 25 So qDavid gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. 26 And 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.

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

28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 sFor 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. 30 But 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

22 Then David said, a“This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” 2 So 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. 3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance dbeyond measure, 4 and cedar trees in abundance; for the eSidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

5 Now 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.

6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and 1charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 And 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; 8 but 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. 9 jBehold, 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. 10 lHe 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.’ 11 Now, 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. 12 Only 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. 13 pThen 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. 14 Indeed 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. 15 Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. 16 Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and sthe Lord be with you.”

17 David 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. 19 Now 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.”

The Divisions of the Levites

23 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son aSolomon king over Israel.

2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of bthirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to clook after the work of the house of the Lord, six thousand were dofficers and judges, 5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand epraised the Lord with musical instruments, f“which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”

6 Also gDavid separated them into 1divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7 Of the hGershonites: 2Laadan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, 3Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one father’s house.

12 iThe sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. 13 The sons of jAmram: Aaron and Moses; and kAaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should 4sanctify the most holy things, lto burn incense before the Lord, mto minister to Him, and nto give the blessing in His name forever. 14 Now othe sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. 15 pThe sons of Moses were 5Gershon and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershon, qShebuel 6was the first. 17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, rRehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar, sShelomith was the first. 19 tOf the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second.

21 uThe sons of Merari were Mahli and