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.