Yoav doesn’t want to do the census

21 Then a trouble-maker went against Yisrael by encouraging David to take a census of Yisrael, 2 So David ordered Yoav and the other officials, “Go and count Yisrael from Be’er-Sheva in the south and as far north as Dan, then come and tell me so that I’ll know how many warriors I have.”

3 “My master, the king, may Yahweh multiply his people one hundred times over. Aren’t they all your servants?” Yoav diplomaticaly queried, “So why does my master want to do this? Why should he bring judgement on Yisrael?” 4 But the king insisted, so Yoav was forced to go and survey the entire country. Then he returned to Yerushalem 5 and reported the numbers to David. Yisrael had 1.1 million sword-wielding men, and Yehudah had 470 thousand. 6 However, Yoav had intentionally not counted the tribes of Levi and Benyamin, because he was horrified by the king’s command.

Punishment for the census

7 God was displeased by what David had ordered, and he punished Yisrael, 8 and David said to God, “I’ve disobeyed you badly by doing that. Please forgive your servant for his disobedience, because I’ve been very stupid.”

9 Then Yahweh told David’s prophet Gad, 10 “Go and tell David that Yahweh says this: I’ll give you three options—choose one of them and that’s what I’ll do to you.”

11 So Gad went to David and told his, “Yahweh says that you must choose one of these punishments: 12 either three years of famine, or three months of being overcome by your enemies’ armies, or three days of Yahweh’s ‘sword’ of pestilence in the land and the Yahweh’s messenger bringing destruction across all of Yisrael’s territory. So now, tell me what answer I should take back to the one who sent me?”

13 “Oh, that’s very distressing,” David replied to Gad, “but please don’t let me fall into the hands of my enemies. Yahweh is very merciful, so please let him be the one to punish me directly.”

14 So Yahweh sent a disease throughout Yisrael and seventy thousand Israeli men died. 15 Then God sent a messenger to destroy Yerushalem, and while the disease was still spreading Yahweh looked down and relented about the tragedy, and he told to the destroying messenger, “Enough! Now release your hand.” Now Yahweh’s messenger happened to be standing at the threshing floor of Ornan the Yevusite.

16 As David looked up, he saw Yahweh’s messenger standing between the earth and the heavens, holding his sword stretched out over Yerushalem. Then David and the elders who were all dressed in sackcloth, fell to their knees and bowed their faces to the ground. 17 Then David asked God, “Wasn’t it me myself who said to count the people? It’s me who disobeyed and clearly did what was wrong, but these sheep, what have they done? Yahweh my God, please direct your punishment against me and my extended family, but don’t continue this plague on your people.”

18 Then Yahweh’s messenger told Gad to tell David that he should build an altar to Yahweh at the threshing floor of Ornan the Yevusite. 19 So David went up to that place when he heard Gad’s message that was delivered in Yahweh’s name. 20 Meanwhile, Ornan was threshing wheat, and he turned and saw Yahweh’s messenger and he and his four sons who were with him quickly hid behind something. 21 When David arrived there, Ornan saw him and left the threshing floor and knelt in front of David and bowed his face to the ground. 22 Then David asked Ornan, “Give me this place with its threshing floor, and I’ll build an altar to Yahweh on it. Sell it to me at the full price, so the plague against the people will be stopped.”

23 “My master the king, take anything that you want,” Ornan replied. “Listen, I’ll donate the cattle for the burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for firewood, and the wheat for the offering—all at no charge.”

24 “No, I’ll most definitely pay the full price,” King David responded. “I couldn’t offer a burnt offering to Yahweh if it hadn’t cost me anything.” 25 So David paid Ornan six hundred gold pieces for his place, 26 and he built an altar to Yahweh there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on it. He called to Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him with fire from the heavens on that altar of the burnt offering.

27 Then Yahweh spoke to his messenger who then returned his sword to his sheath.

24 Then Yahweh was angry against Yisrael again and he incited David to cause problems for them by saying, “Go and order a census of Yisrael and Yehudah.” 2 So the king told Yoav, the commander of his army, who was with him at the time, “Travel throughout all the regions of the Israeli tribes, from Dan (in the far north) down to Beer-Sheva (in the far south), and count the people so that I’ll know the number of fighting men.”

3 “May your God Yahweh multiply the people a hundred times over,” Yoav responded, “add may my master the king see that happen, but why would my master the king want to do that?” 4 However, the king insisted, so even though Yoav and the army commanders disagreed, at the king’s command they set off to count the Israeli people.

5 They crossed the Yordan river and camped in Aroer, south of the city in the middle of the Gad valley, then proceeded to Yazer. 6 Then they went north to Gilead and the land of Tahtim-Hodshi, before coming to Dan-Yaan and around to Tsidon. 7 Then they came to the Tsor (Tyre) fortress and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites before going east to Be’er-Sheva in the Negev wilderness (part of Yehudah). 8 So they travelled throughout the land for nine months and twenty days before returning to Yerushalem. 9 Then Yoav reported the census results to the king: 800,000 fighting swordsmen in Yisrael, and 500,000 in Yehudah.

10 However, David had a guilty conscience after he’d had the people counted and he told Yahweh, “I’ve disobeyed you badly, but now, Yahweh, please take away the iniquity of your servant because I’ve been very foolish.”

11 When David got up in the morning, Yahweh gave the prophet Gad this message 12 to take to David, “I, Yahweh, am offering you three choices. You decide which one I should carry out against you.” 13 Then Gad asked him, “Do you want seven years of famine in your country, or three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of plague in your country? Consider those and let me know which option to pass back to the one who sent me.”

14 David answered Gad, “This is very distressing, but please let Yahweh be the one to punish me because he’s very merciful—don’t let other men be the ones.”

15 So Yahweh sent a plague to Yisrael from the morning and until the time he’d decided. Seventy thousand people died from Dan in the north down to Beer-Sheva in the south. 16 When Yahweh’s messenger stretched out his hand to destroy Yerushalem with the plague, Yahweh relented concerning the disaster and told the messenger who was destroying many people, “Now lower your hand.” When he said that, his messenger was near the threshing floor of Aravnah the Yebusite.

17 David had complained to Yahweh when he saw the messenger afflicting the people, saying, “Listen, it’s me alone who sinned, and I myself who disobeyed you. But these innocent people—what have they done? Please, just punish only me and my relatives.”

David builds an altar

18 Gad came to David that day, and instructed him, “Go to the Yebusite Aravnah’s threshing floor and build an altar to Yahweh there.” 19 So David went there just as Yahweh had instructed him through Gad’s message. 20 When Aravnah looked out and saw the king and his servants approaching, he went out and fell to his knees in front of the king and bowed his face to the ground. 21 “Why would my master the king come to his servant?” Aravnah asked.

“I want to buy your threshing floor to build an altar for Yahweh,” David answered. “So that the plague afflicting the people can be stopped.”

22 “May my master the king take it,” Aravnah responded. “Use it in whatever way you think best. See, you can use the oxen for the burnt offering, and the threshing instruments and the oxen’s equipment for firewood. 23 I give it all to you, the king. May your God Yahweh accept your offering.”

24 “No,” the king answered. “I’ll definitely buy it from you. I couldn’t offer something to my God Yahweh that cost me nothing.” 25 So David built an altar there to Yahweh, and he instructed for burnt offerings and peace offerings to be made. Then Yahweh accepted prayers for the country and the plague against Yisrael was stopped.