And Davidsaid to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, numberIsraelfromBeershebaeven to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.
And Joabanswered, The LORDmake his people an hundredtimes so manymore as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’sservants? why thendoth my lordrequirethisthing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?
And Joabgave the sum of the number of the peopleuntoDavid. And all they of Israelwere a thousandthousand and an hundredthousand men thatdrewsword: and Judah was fourhundredthreescore and ten thousand men thatdrewsword.
And Davidsaidunto God, I havesinnedgreatly, because I havedonethisthing: but now, I beseechthee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I havedoneveryfoolishly.
Eitherthreeyears’famine; or threemonths to be destroyedbefore thy foes, whilethat the sword of thineenemiesovertakeththee; or elsethreedays the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORDdestroyingthroughout all the coasts of Israel. Now thereforeadvisethyselfwhatword I shallbringagain to him thatsent me.
And Davidsaidunto Gad, I am in a greatstrait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for verygreat are his mercies: but let me not fallinto the hand of man.
And God sent an angeluntoJerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORDbeheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angelthatdestroyed, It is enough, stay now thinehand. And the angel of the LORDstood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
And Davidlifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORDstandbetween the earth and the heaven, having a drawnsword in his handstretched out overJerusalem. ThenDavid and the elders of Israel, who wereclothed in sackcloth, fellupontheirfaces.
And Davidsaidunto God, Is it not I thatcommanded the people to be numbered? even I it is thathavesinned and doneevilindeed; but as for thesesheep, whathavetheydone? let thinehand, I praythee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father’shouse; but not on thy people, thattheyshould be plagued.
Then the angel of the LORDcommanded Gad to say to David, thatDavidshould go up, and set up an altarunto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
ThenDavidsaid to Ornan, Grant me the place of thisthreshingfloor, that I may build an altarthereinunto the LORD: thoushaltgrant it me for the fullprice: that the plague may be stayedfrom the people.
And OrnansaiduntoDavid, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do thatwhich is good in his eyes: lo, I givethee the oxenalso for burntofferings, and the threshinginstruments for wood, and the wheat for the meatoffering; I give it all.
And kingDavidsaid to Ornan, Nay; but I willverily buy it for the fullprice: for I will not takethatwhich is thine for the LORD, nor offerburntofferingswithoutcost.
And Davidbuiltthere an altarunto the LORD, and offeredburntofferings and peaceofferings, and calledupon the LORD; and he answered him fromheaven by fireupon the altar of burntoffering.