| Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to count the people of Israel. | 1An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had. |
| 2So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan and bring a report to me so I can know their number." | 2David told Joab and the leaders of the army, "Go, count the number of warriors from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we have." |
| 3Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply the number of his people a hundred times over! My lord the king, aren't they all my lord's servants? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?" | 3Joab replied, "May the LORD make his army a hundred times larger! My master, O king, do not all of them serve my master? Why does my master want to do this? Why bring judgment on Israel?" |
| 4Yet the king's order prevailed over Joab. So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel and then returned to Jerusalem. | 4But the king's edict stood, despite Joab's objections. So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel before returning to Jerusalem. |
| 5Joab gave the total troop registration to David. In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand armed men and in Judah itself four hundred seventy thousand armed men. | 5Joab reported to David the number of warriors. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 sword-wielding soldiers; Judah alone had 470,000 sword-wielding soldiers. |
| 6But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count because the king's command was detestable to him. | 6Now Joab did not number Levi and Benjamin, for the king's edict disgusted him. |
| 7This command was also evil in God's sight, so he afflicted Israel. | 7God was also offended by it, so he attacked Israel. |
| 8David said to God, "I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now, please take away your servant's guilt, for I've been very foolish." | 8David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly." |
| 9Then the LORD instructed Gad, David's seer, | 9The LORD told Gad, David's prophet, |
| 10"Go and say to David, 'This is what the LORD says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.'" | 10"Go, tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: "I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them."'" |
| 11So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Take your choice: | 11Gad went to David and told him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Pick one of these: |
| 12three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes with the sword of your enemy overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD--a plague on the land, the angel of the LORD bringing destruction to the whole territory of Israel.' Now decide what answer I should take back to the one who sent me." | 12three years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords, or three days being struck down by the LORD, during which a plague will invade the land and the LORD's messenger will destroy throughout Israel's territory.' Now, decide what I should tell the one who sent me." |
| 13David answered Gad, "I'm in anguish. Please, let me fall into the LORD's hands because his mercies are very great, but don't let me fall into human hands." | 13David said to Gad, "I am very upset! I prefer to be attacked by the LORD, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!" |
| 14So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand Israelite men died. | 14So the LORD sent a plague through Israel, and 70,000 Israelite men died. |
| 15Then God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but when the angel was about to destroy the city, the LORD looked, relented concerning the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough, withdraw your hand now!" The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. | 15God sent an angel to ravage Jerusalem. As he was doing so, the LORD watched and relented from his judgment. He told the angel who was destroying, "That's enough! Stop now!" Now the LORD's angel was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. |
| 16When David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown. | 16David looked up and saw the LORD's messenger standing between the earth and sky with his sword drawn and in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. David and the leaders, covered with sackcloth, threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. |
| 17David said to God, "Wasn't I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? LORD my God, please let your hand be against me and against my father's family, but don't let the plague be against your people." | 17David said to God, "Was I not the one who decided to number the army? I am the one who sinned and committed this awful deed! As for these sheep--what have they done? O LORD my God, attack me and my family, but remove the plague from your people!" |
| 18So the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go and set up an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. | 18So the LORD's messenger told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar for the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. |
| 19David went up at Gad's command spoken in the name of the LORD. | 19So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of the LORD. |
| 20Ornan was threshing wheat when he turned and saw the angel. His four sons, who were with him, hid. | 20While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the messenger, and he and his four sons hid themselves. |
| 21David came to Ornan, and when Ornan looked and saw David, he left the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground. | 21When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David; he came out from the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground. |
| 22Then David said to Ornan, "Give me this threshing-floor plot so that I may build an altar to the LORD on it. Give it to me for the full price, so the plague on the people may be stopped." | 22David said to Ornan, "Sell me the threshing floor so I can build on it an altar for the LORD--I'll pay top price--so that the plague may be removed from the people." |
| 23Ornan said to David, "Take it! My lord the king may do whatever he wants. See, I give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering--I give it all." | 23Ornan told David, "You can have it! My master, the king, may do what he wants. Look, I am giving you the oxen for burnt sacrifices, the threshing sledges for wood, and the wheat for an offering. I give it all to you." |
| 24King David answered Ornan, "No, I insist on paying the full price, for I will not take for the LORD what belongs to you or offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing." | 24King David replied to Ornan, "No, I insist on buying it for top price. I will not offer to the LORD what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice that cost me nothing. |
| 25So David gave Ornan fifteen pounds of gold for the plot. | 25So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 pieces of gold. |
| 26He built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the LORD, and he answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. | 26David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. He called out to the LORD, and the LORD responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar. |
| 27Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. | 27The LORD ordered the messenger to put his sword back into its sheath. |
| 28At that time, David offered sacrifices there when he saw that the LORD answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. | 28At that time, when David saw that the LORD responded to him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. |
| 29The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at the high place in Gibeon, | 29Now the LORD's tabernacle (which Moses had made in the wilderness) and the altar for burnt sacrifices were at that time at the worship center in Gibeon. |
| 30but David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was terrified of the sword of the LORD's angel. | 30But David could not go before it to seek God's will, for he was afraid of the sword of the LORD's messenger. |
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