The First Book of the Chronicles

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 21 -

(Exodus 30:11–16; 2 Samuel 24:1–9)

And Satan rose up against Israel: and moved David to number Israel.

And David said to Joab, and to the rulers of the people: Go, and number Israel from Bersabee even to Dan, and bring me the number of them that I may know it.

And Joab answered: The Lord make his people a hundred times more than they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all thy servants: why doth my lord seek this thing, which may be imputed as a sin to Israel?

But the king’s word rather prevailed: and Joab departed, and went through all Israel: and returned to Jerusalem.

And he gave David the number of them, whom he had surveyed: and all the number of Israel was found to be eleven hundred thousand men that drew the sword: and of Juda four hundred and seventy thousand fighting men.

But Levi and Benjamin he did not number: for Joab unwillingly executed the king’s orders.

Judgment for David’s Sin

(2 Samuel 24:10–14)

And God was displeased with this thing that was commanded: and he struck Israel.

And David said to God: I have sinned exceedingly in doing this: I beseech thee take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done foolishly.

And the Lord spoke to Gad the seer of David, saying:

Go, and speak to David, and tell him: Thus saith the Lord: I give thee the choice of three things: choose one which thou wilt, and I will do it to thee.

And when Gad was come to David, he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: choose which thou wilt:

Either three years’ famine: or three months to flee from thy enemies, and not to be able to escape their sword: or three days to have the sword of the Lord, and pestilence in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying in all the coasts of Israel: now therefore see what I shall answer him who sent me.

And David said to Gad: I am on every side in a great strait: but it is better for me to fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are many, than into the hands of men.

A Plague on Israel

(2 Samuel 24:15–17)

So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel. And there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.

And he sent an angel to Jerusalem, to strike it: and as he was striking it, the Lord beheld, and took pity for the greatness of the evil: and said to the angel that destroyed: It is enough, now stop thy hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the thrashing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David lifting up his eyes, saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand, turned against Jerusalem: and both he and the ancients clothed in haircloth, fell down flat on the ground.

And David said to God: Am not I he that commanded the people to be numbered? It is I that have sinned: it is I that have done the evil: but as for this flock, what hath it deserved? O Lord my God, let thy hand be turned, I beseech thee, upon me, and upon my father’s house: and let not thy people be destroyed.

David Builds an Altar

(2 Samuel 24:18–25)

And the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to tell David, to go up, and build an altar to the Lord God in the thrashingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David went up, according to the word of Gad, which he spoke to him in the name of the Lord.

Now when Ornan looked up, and saw the angel, he and his four sons hid themselves: for at that time he was thrashing wheat in the floor.

And as David was coming to Ornan, Ornan saw him, and went out of the thrashingfloor to meet him, and bowed down to him with his face to the ground.

And David said to him: Give me this place of thy thrashingfloor, that I may build therein an altar to the Lord: but thou shalt take of me as much money as it is worth, that the plague may cease from the people.

And Ornan said to David: Take it, and let my lord the king do all that pleaseth him: and moreover the oxen also I give for a holocaust, and the drays for wood, and the wheat for the sacrifice: I will give it all willingly.

And king David said to him: It shall not be so, but I will give thee money as much as it is worth: for I must not take it from thee, and so offer to the Lord holocausts free cost.

So David gave to Ornan for the place, six hundred sicles of gold of just weight.

And he built there an altar to the Lord: and he offered holocausts, and peace offerings, and he called upon the Lord, and he heard him by sending Are from heaven upon the altar of the holocaust.

And the Lord commanded the angel: and he put up his sword again into the sheath.

And David seeing that the Lord had heard him in the thrashingfloor of Oman the Jebusite, forthwith offered victims there.

But the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the desert, and the altar of holocausts, was at that time in the high place of Gabaon.

And David could not go to the altar there to pray to God: for he was seized with an exceeding great fear, seeing the sword of the angel of the Lord.

(Exodus 30:11–16; 2 Samuel 24:1–9)

Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to take a census of Israel.

David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know how many there are.”

Joab said, “May the LORD make his people a hundred times as many as they are. But, my lord the king, aren’t they all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of guilt to Israel?”

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

Joab gave the sum of the census of the people to David. All those of Israel were one million one hundred thousand men who drew a sword; and in Judah were four hundred seventy thousand men who drew a sword.

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

Judgment for David’s Sin

(2 Samuel 24:10–14)

God was displeased with this thing; therefore he struck Israel.

David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now put away, I beg you, the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

The LORD spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying,

“Go and speak to David, saying, ‘The LORD says, “I offer you three things. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.”’”

So Gad came to David and said to him, “The LORD says, ‘Take your choice:

either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed 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 LORD’s angel destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.’”

David said to Gad, “I am in distress. Let me fall, I pray, into the LORD’s hand, for his mercies are very great. Don’t let me fall into man’s hand.”

A Plague on Israel

(2 Samuel 24:15–17)

So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.

God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was about to destroy, the LORD saw, and he relented of the disaster, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough. Now withdraw your hand.” the LORD’s angel was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David lifted up his eyes, and saw the LORD’s angel standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.

David said to God, “Isn’t it I who commanded the people to be counted? It is even I who have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O LORD my God, be against me and against my father’s house; but not against your people, that they should be plagued.”

David Builds an Altar

(2 Samuel 24:18–25)

Then the LORD’s angel commanded Gad to tell David that David should go up and raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spoke in the LORD’s name.

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

As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.

Then David said to Ornan, “Sell me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to the LORD on it. You shall sell it to me for the full price, that the plague may be stopped from afflicting the people.”

Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes. Behold, I give the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal offering. I give it all.”

King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will most certainly buy it for the full price. For I will not take that which is yours for the LORD, nor offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

So David gave to Ornan six hundred shekels

(a)

of gold by weight for the place.

David built an altar to the LORD there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the LORD; and he answered him from the sky by fire on the altar of burnt offering.

Then The LORD commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.

At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.

For the LORD’s tabernacle, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.

But David couldn’t go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid because of the sword of the LORD’s angel.

Footnotes

(a)21:25 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 600 shekels was about 6 kilograms or about 192 Troy ounces.