David Counts His Fighting Men

21 Satan rose up against Israel. He stirred up David to count the men of Israel. ² So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go! Count the men of Israel from Beersheba all the way to Dan. Report back to me. Then I’ll know how many there are.”

³ Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops 100 times. King David, you are my master. Aren’t all the men under your control? Why would you want me to count them? Do you want to make Israel guilty?”

⁴ In spite of what Joab said, the king’s order had more authority than Joab’s reply did. So Joab left and went all through Israel. Then he came back to Jerusalem. ⁵ Joab reported to David how many fighting men he had counted. In the whole land of Israel there were 1,100,000 men who could use their swords well. That included 470,000 men in Judah.

⁶ But Joab didn’t include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the total number. The king’s command was sickening to Joab. ⁷ It was also evil in the sight of God. So he punished Israel.

⁸ Then David said to God, “I committed a great sin when I counted Israel’s men. I beg you to take away my guilt. I’ve done a very foolish thing.”

⁹ The Lord spoke to Gad, David’s prophet. The Lord said, ¹⁰ “Go and tell David, ‘The Lord says, “I could punish you in three different ways. Choose one of them for me to punish you with.” ’ ”

¹¹ So Gad went to David. Gad said to him, “The Lord says, ‘Take your choice. ¹² You can have three years when there will not be enough food in the land. You can have three months when your enemies will sweep you away. They will catch up with you. They will destroy you with their swords. Or you can have three days when the sword of the Lord will punish you. That means there would be three days of plague in the land. My angel would strike down people in every part of Israel.’ So take your pick. Tell me how to answer the one who sent me.”

¹³ David said to Gad, “I’m suffering terribly. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord. His mercy is very great. But don’t let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁴ So the Lord sent a plague on Israel. And 70,000 Israelites died. ¹⁵ God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing it, the Lord saw it. The Lord decided to end the plague he had sent. So he spoke to the angel who was destroying the people. He said, “That is enough! Do not kill any more people!” The angel of the Lord was standing at Araunah’s threshing floor. Araunah was from the city of Jebus.

¹⁶ David looked up. He saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth. The angel was holding out a sword over Jerusalem. David and the elders fell with their faces to the ground. They were wearing the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad.

¹⁷ David said to God, “I ordered the fighting men to be counted. I’m the one who has sinned. I am the shepherd of these people. I’m the one who has done what is wrong. These people are like sheep. What have they done? Lord my God, punish me and my family. But don’t let this plague continue to strike your people.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸ Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up to the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. He wanted David to build an altar there to honor the Lord. ¹⁹ So David went up and did it. He obeyed the message that Gad had spoken in the Lord’s name.

²⁰ Araunah was threshing wheat. He turned and saw the angel. Araunah’s four children were with him. They hid themselves. ²¹ David approached the threshing floor. Araunah looked up and saw him. So Araunah left the threshing floor. He bowed down to David with his face toward the ground.

²² David said to him, “Let me have the property your threshing floor is on. I want to build an altar there to honor the Lord. When I do, the plague on the people will be stopped. Sell the threshing floor to me for the full price.”

²³ Araunah said to David, “Take it! King David, you are my master. Do what you please. I’ll even provide the oxen for the burnt offerings. Use boards from the threshing sleds for the wood. Use the wheat for the grain offering. I’ll give it all to you.”

²⁴ But King David replied to Araunah, “No! I want to pay the full price. I won’t take what belongs to you and give it to the Lord. I won’t sacrifice a burnt offering that hasn’t cost me anything.”

²⁵ So David paid Araunah 15 pounds of gold for the property. ²⁶ David built an altar there to honor the Lord. He sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. He called out to the Lord. The Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven on the altar for burnt offerings.

²⁷ Then the Lord spoke to the angel. And the angel put his sword away. ²⁸ When the angel did that, David was still at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. David saw that the Lord had answered him. So he offered sacrifices there. ²⁹ At that time, the Lord’s holy tent was at the high place in Gibeon. The altar for burnt offerings was there too. Moses had made the holy tent in the desert. ³⁰ David couldn’t go to the tent to pray to God. That’s because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

22 David announced, “The house of the Lord God will be built here. Israel’s altar for burnt offerings will also be here.”

David Makes Plans for Building the Temple

² David gave orders to bring together the outsiders who were living in Israel. He appointed some of them to cut stones. He wanted them to prepare blocks of stone for building the house of God. ³ David provided a large amount of iron to make nails. They were for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings. He provided more bronze than anyone could weigh. ⁴ He also provided more cedar logs than anyone could count. The people of Sidon and Tyre brought large numbers of logs to David.

⁵ David said, “My son Solomon is young. He’s never done anything like this before. The house that will be built for the Lord should be very grand and wonderful. All the nations should consider it to be famous and beautiful. I’ll get things ready for it.” So David got many things ready before he died.

⁶ Then he sent for his son Solomon. He told him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “My son, with all my heart I wanted to build a house for the Lord my God. That’s where his Name will be. ⁸ But a message from the Lord came to me. It said, ‘You have spilled the blood of many people. You have fought many wars. You are not the one who will build a house for my Name. That is because I have seen you spill the blood of many people on the earth. ⁹ But you are going to have a son. He will be a man of peace. And I will give him peace and rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon. I will give Israel peace and quiet while he is king. ¹⁰ He will build a house for my Name. He will be my son. And I will be his father. I will make his kingdom secure over Israel. It will last forever.’

¹¹ “My son, may the Lord be with you. May you have success. May you build the house of the Lord your God, just as he said you would. ¹² May the Lord give you good sense. May he give you understanding when he makes you king over Israel. Then you will keep the law of the Lord your God. ¹³ Be careful to obey the rules and laws the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Then you will have success. Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope.

¹⁴ “I’ve tried very hard to provide for the Lord’s temple. I’ve provided 3,750 tons of gold and 37,500 tons of silver. I’ve provided more bronze and iron than anyone can weigh. I’ve also given plenty of wood and stone. You can add to it. ¹⁵ You have a lot of workers. You have people who can cut stones and people who can lay the stones. You have people who can work with wood. You also have people who are skilled in every other kind of work. ¹⁶ Some of them can work with gold and silver. Others can work with bronze and iron. There are more workers than anyone can count. So begin the work. May the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ Then David ordered all Israel’s leaders to help his son Solomon. ¹⁸ He said to them, “The Lord your God is with you. He’s given you peace and rest on every side. He’s handed over to me the people who are living in the land. The land has been brought under the control of the Lord and his people. ¹⁹ So be committed to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the temple of the Lord God. Then bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord into it. Also bring in the sacred objects that belong to God. The temple will be built for the Name of the Lord.”

The Family Line of Levi

23 David had become very old. So he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

² He gathered together all the leaders of Israel. He also gathered the priests and the Levites together. ³ The Levites who were 30 years old or more were counted. The total number of men was 38,000. ⁴ David said, “From them, 24,000 will be in charge of the work of the Lord’s temple. And 6,000 will be officials and judges. ⁵ Another 4,000 will guard the gates. And 4,000 will praise the Lord with the instruments of music I’ve provided for that purpose.”

⁶ David separated the Levites into groups. He did it according to the sons of Levi. The sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

The Family of Gershon

The Family of Kohath

Eliezer didn’t have any other sons. But Rehabiah had a great many sons.

The Family of Merari

²⁴ Those were the family lines of Levi. They were recorded under the names of the family leaders. Each worker who was 20 years old or more was counted. They served in the Lord’s temple. ²⁵ David had said, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He has given peace and rest to his people. He has come to Jerusalem to live there forever. ²⁶ So the Levites don’t need to carry the holy tent anymore. They don’t need to carry any of its objects anymore. Those were the things that were used to serve there.” ²⁷ The Levites who were 20 years old or more were counted. That was in keeping with David’s final directions.

²⁸ The Levites had the duty of helping the members of Aaron’s family line. They helped them serve in the Lord’s temple. They were in charge of the courtyards and the side rooms. They made all the sacred things pure and “clean.” They also had other duties at the house of God. ²⁹ They were in charge of setting the holy bread out on the table. They prepared the special flour for the grain offerings. They made the thin loaves without using any yeast. They did the baking and the mixing. They measured the amount and size of everything. ³⁰ They stood every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They did the same thing every evening. ³¹ They also did it every time burnt offerings were brought to the Lord. Those offerings were brought every Sabbath day. They were also brought at every New Moon feast and during the appointed yearly feasts. The Levites served in front of the Lord at regular times. The proper number of Levites was always used when they served. They served in the way the law required.

³² So the Levites carried out their duties for the tent of meeting and for the Holy Room. They worked under their relatives who were in the family line of Aaron. They helped them serve at the Lord’s temple.