1 Chronicles 21

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

²So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”

³And Joab answered, “May the Lord

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.

⁶But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.

⁷And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.

⁸So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

⁹Then the Lord

¹⁰“Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord

¹¹So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord

¹²either three 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

¹³And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord

¹⁴So the Lord

¹⁵And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the Lord

¹⁶Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord

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 sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord

¹⁸Therefore, the angel of the Lord

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, “Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the Lord

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

²⁵So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.

²⁶And David built there an altar to the Lord

²⁷So the Lord

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord

²⁹For the tabernacle of the Lord

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