| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Then Satan attacked Israel by inciting David to enumerate a census of Israel. | 1An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had. |
| 2David ordered Joab and the commanders of the army, "Go take a census of Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan, and bring me a report so I can be aware of the total 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." |
| 3But Joab replied, "May the LORD increase the population of his people a hundredfold! Your majesty, all of them are your majesty's servants, aren't they? So why should your majesty demand this? Why should he bring guilt to 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?" |
| 4But the king's order overruled Joab, so Joab left, traveled throughout all of 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. |
| 5to report the total population count to David. Throughout all of Israel there were 1,100,000 men trained for war. In Judah there were 470,000 men trained for war. | 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. |
| 6Levi and Benjamin were not included in the census, because what the king had commanded was unethical to Joab. | 6Now Joab did not number Levi and Benjamin, for the king's edict disgusted him. |
| 7God considered this behavior to be evil, so he attacked Israel. | 7God was also offended by it, so he attacked Israel. |
| 8David responded to God, "I sinned greatly by behaving this way. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly." | 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." |
| 9So the LORD responded through Gad, David's seer. | 9The LORD told Gad, David's prophet, |
| 10"Go and tell David, 'This is what the LORD says: "I'm holding three choices out for you: pick 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."'" |
| 11Gad went to David and told him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Make a choice for yourself: | 11Gad went to David and told him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Pick one of these: |
| 12Either three years of famine, or three months of reversals as you are swept away by your enemies while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days with the sword of the LORD, consisting of pestilence infecting the land, with the angel of the LORD wreaking destruction from border to border throughout all of Israel.' Decide right now what I am to answer 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." |
| 13So David replied to Gad, "This is a very bad choice for me to make! Let me now please fall into the hand of the LORD, because his mercy is very great, but may I never 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!" |
| 14Then the LORD sent a pestilence to Israel, and 70,000 men died in Israel. | 14So the LORD sent a plague through Israel, and 70,000 Israelite men died. |
| 15God also sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as he was about to do so, the LORD looked and withdrew the calamity by saying to the destroying angel, "Enough! Stop what you're doing!" So the angel of the LORD remained standing near the threshing floor that belonged to 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. |
| 16David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. | 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 told God, "Wasn't I the one who ordered the census of the population? Wasn't it I who sinned and acted wickedly? Now as for these sheep, what have they done? LORD God, please let your hand be against me and my ancestral household, but don't let your people be ravaged by plague!" | 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!" |
| 18The angel of the LORD told Gad to tell David that David was to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor that belonged to 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. |
| 19So David went up, obeying Gad's directive that he had spoken in the name of the LORD. | 19So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of the LORD. |
| 20Ornan turned around and saw the angel. While his four sons with him ran away to hide, Ornan continued to thresh wheat. | 20While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the messenger, and he and his four sons hid themselves. |
| 21As David approached Ornan, Ornan looked around and observed David, left the threshing floor, and fell to the ground before David with his face on 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. |
| 22David told Ornan, "Give me the threshing floor as a site to build an altar to the LORD on it. Give it to me at its full price, so the plague may be averted from the people." | 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." |
| 23But Ornan replied to David, "Take it! Let your majesty the king do whatever seems like a good idea to him. Look here! I'm giving the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing machinery for the wood, and the wheat for a grain offering. I'm giving all of it." | 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." |
| 24But King David told Ornan, "No. I will buy them for the full price because I will not offer to the LORD what is yours 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 paid Ornan 600 shekels weight worth in gold for the site, | 25So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 pieces of gold. |
| 26built an altar to the LORD there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called out to the LORD, and he answered him from heaven with fire on the altar of burnt offerings. | 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. |
| 27After this, the LORD spoke to the angel, who then sheathed his sword. | 27The LORD ordered the messenger to put his sword back into its sheath. |
| 28From that time on, after David had observed that the LORD had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he made his sacrifices there. | 28At that time, when David saw that the LORD responded to him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. |
| 29Meanwhile, the tent of the LORD that Moses had crafted in the desert, along with the altar of burnt offerings, were being stored at the high place in Gibeon at that time, | 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 was not going before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword carried by the angel of the LORD. | 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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