Chapter 21

Census Brings Pestilence

1 aThen Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

2 So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “aGo, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number.”

3 Joab said, “aMay the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?”

4 Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore, Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.

5 Joab gave the number of the 1census of all the people to David. And aall Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword.

6 aBut he did not 1number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s 2command was abhorrent to Joab.

7 1God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel.

8 David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. aBut now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

9 The Lord spoke to aGad, David’s bseer, saying,

10 “Go and speak to David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I 1offer you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.” ’ ”

11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Take for yourself

12 aeither three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.”

13 David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, afor His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

14 aSo the Lord 1sent a pestilence on Israel; 70,000 men of Israel fell.

15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and awas sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of 1Ornan the Jebusite.

16 Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, acovered with sackcloth, fell on their faces.

17 David said to God, “Is it not I who 1commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, abut these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

David’s Altar

18 aThen 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.

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

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

21 As 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.

22 Then 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.”

23 Ornan 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.”

24 But 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.”

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

26 Then 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.

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

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

29 aFor the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high place at Gibeon at that time.

30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.

Chapter 22

David Prepares for Temple Building

1 Then David said, “aThis is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

2 So David 1gave orders to gather athe foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and bhe set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God.

3 David aprepared large quantities of iron 1to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bbronze than could be weighed;

4 and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for athe Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David.

5 David said, “My son aSolomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore now I will make preparation for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.

Solomon Charged with the Task

6 Then ahe called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel.

7 David said to Solomon, “aMy son, 1I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God.

8 “But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘aYou have shed much blood and have 1waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me.

9 ‘Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and aI will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for bhis name shall be 1Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.

10 ‘aHe shall build a house for My name, and he 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, athe Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you.

12 “aOnly the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may bkeep the law of the Lord your God.

13 “aThen you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. bBe strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed.

14 “Now behold, 1with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord a100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bbronze and iron beyond weight, for 2they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them.

15 “Moreover, there are many workmen with you, stonecutters and masons of stone and carpenters, and all men who are skillful in every kind of work.

16 “Of the gold, the silver and the bronze and the iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may athe Lord be with you.”

17 aDavid also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying,

18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? And ahas 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 aset your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, bso that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built cfor the name of the Lord.”

Chapter 23

Solomon Reigns

1 aNow when David 1reached old age, bhe made his son Solomon king over Israel.

2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.

Offices of the Levites

3 aThe Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and btheir number by 1census of men was 38,000.

4 Of these, 24,000 were ato oversee the work of the house of the Lord; and 6,000 were bofficers and judges,

5 and 4,000 were gatekeepers, and a4,000 were praising the Lord with the instruments which 1David made for giving praise.

6 David divided them into divisions aaccording to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Gershonites

7 Of the Gershonites were 1Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first and Zetham and Joel, three.

9 The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan.

10 The sons of Shimei were Jahath, 1Zina, Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.

11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became a father’s household, one 1class.

Kohathites

12 The sons of Kohath were four: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

13 aThe sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And bAaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, cto burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever.

14 But as for aMoses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The 1son of Gershom was 2Shebuel the chief.

17 The 1son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

18 The 1son of Izhar was 2Shelomith the chief.

19 The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

20 The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

Merarites

21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.

22 Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, so their brothers, the sons of Kish, took them as wives.

23 The sons of Mushi were three: Mahli, Eder and Jeremoth.

Duties Revised

24 aThese were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were 1counted, in the number of names by their 2census, doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord, bfrom twenty years old and upward.

25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel ahas given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever.

26 “Also, athe Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.”

27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward.

28 For their office is 1to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God,

29 aand with the showbread, and bthe fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or cwhat is baked in the pan or dwhat is well-mixed, and eall measures of volume and size.

30 They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening,

31 and to offer all burnt offerings to the Lord, aon the sabbaths, the new moons and bthe fixed festivals in the number set by the ordinance concerning them, continually before the Lord.

32 Thus athey are to keep charge of the tent of meeting, and charge of the holy place, and bcharge of the sons of Aaron their 1relatives, for the service of the house of the Lord.