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1 Cronache 21
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana

3. VERSO LA COSTRUZIONE DEL TEMPIO

Il censimento

21 Satana insorse contro Israele. Egli spinse Davide a censire gli Israeliti. 2 Davide disse a Ioab e ai capi del popolo: «Andate, contate gli Israeliti da Bersabea a Dan; quindi portatemene il conto sì che io conosca il loro numero». 3 Ioab disse a Davide: «Il Signore aumenti il suo popolo sì da renderlo cento volte tanto! Ma, mio signore, essi non sono tutti sudditi del mio signore? Perché il mio signore vuole questa inchiesta? Perché dovrebbe cadere tale colpa su Israele?». 4 Ma l'opinione del re si impose a Ioab. Questi percorse tutto Israele, quindi tornò a Gerusalemme. 5 Ioab consegnò a Davide il numero del censimento del popolo. In tutto Israele risultarono un milione e centomila uomini atti alle armi; in Giuda risultarono quattrocentosettantamila uomini atti alle armi. 6 Fra costoro Ioab non censì i leviti né la tribù di Beniamino, perché l'ordine del re gli appariva un abominio.

La peste e il perdono divino

7 Il fatto dispiacque agli occhi di Dio, che perciò colpì Israele. 8 Davide disse a Dio: «Facendo una cosa simile, ho peccato gravemente. Perdona, ti prego, l'iniquità del tuo servo, perché ho commesso una vera follia».

9 Il Signore disse a Gad, veggente di Davide: 10 «Và, riferisci a Davide: Dice il Signore: Ti pongo davanti tre cose, scegline una e io te la concederò». 11 Gad andò da Davide e gli riferì: «Dice il Signore: Scegli 12 fra tre anni di carestia, tre mesi di fuga per te di fronte ai tuoi avversari, sotto l'incubo della spada dei tuoi nemici, e tre giorni della spada del Signore con la peste che si diffonde sul paese e l'angelo del Signore che porta lo sterminio in tutto il territorio di Israele. Ora decidi che cosa io debba riferire a chi mi ha inviato». 13 Davide disse a Gad: «Sono in un'angoscia terribile. Ebbene, io cada nelle mani del Signore, perché la sua misericordia è molto grande, ma io non cada nelle mani degli uomini». 14 Così il Signore mandò la peste in Israele; morirono settantamila Israeliti. 15 Dio mandò un angelo in Gerusalemme per distruggerla. Ma, come questi stava distruggendola, il Signore volse lo sguardo e si astenne dal male minacciato. Egli disse all'angelo sterminatore: «Ora basta! Ritira la mano».

L'angelo del Signore stava in piedi presso l'aia di Ornan il Gebuseo. 16 Davide, alzati gli occhi, vide l'angelo del Signore che stava fra terra e cielo con la spada sguainata in mano, tesa verso Gerusalemme. Allora Davide e gli anziani, coperti di sacco, si prostrarono con la faccia a terra. 17 Davide disse a Dio: «Non sono forse stato io a ordinare il censimento del popolo? Io ho peccato e ho commesso il male; costoro, il gregge, che cosa hanno fatto? Signore Dio mio, sì, la tua mano infierisca su di me e sul mio casato, ma non colpisca il tuo popolo».

L'erezione di un altare

18 L'angelo del Signore ordinò a Gad di riferire a Davide che salisse ad erigere un altare al Signore nell'aia di Ornan il Gebuseo. 19 Davide vi andò secondo l'ordine di Gad, comunicatogli a nome del Signore. 20 Ornan si volse e vide l'angelo; i suoi quattro figli, che erano con lui, si nascosero. Ornan stava trebbiando il grano, 21 quando gli si avvicinò Davide. Ornan guardò e, riconosciuto Davide, uscì dall'aia, prostrandosi con la faccia a terra davanti a Davide. 22 Davide disse a Ornan: «Cedimi il terreno dell'aia, perché io vi costruisca un altare al Signore; cedimelo per tutto il suo valore, così che il flagello cessi di infierire sul popolo». 23 Ornan rispose a Davide: «Prenditelo; il re mio signore ne faccia quello che vuole. Vedi, io ti dò anche i buoi per gli olocausti, le trebbie per la legna e il grano per l'offerta; tutto io ti offro». 24 Ma il re Davide disse a Ornan: «No! Lo voglio acquistare per tutto il suo valore; non presenterò al Signore una cosa che appartiene a te offrendo così un olocausto gratuitamente». 25 E così Davide diede a Ornan seicento sicli d'oro per il terreno.

26 Quindi Davide vi eresse un altare per il Signore e vi offrì olocausti e sacrifici di comunione. Invocò il Signore, che gli rispose con il fuoco sceso dal cielo sull'altare dell'olocausto.

27 Il Signore ordinò all'angelo e questi ripose la spada nel fodero. 28 Allora, visto che il Signore l'aveva ascoltato sull'aia di Ornan il Gebuseo, Davide offrì là un sacrificio. 29 La Dimora del Signore, eretta da Mosè nel deserto, e l'altare dell'olocausto in quel tempo stavano sull'altura che era in Gàbaon; 30 ma Davide non osava recarsi là a consultare Dio perché si era molto spaventato di fronte alla spada dell'angelo del Signore.

Listen to 1 Chronicles 21
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1 Chronicles 21
New King James Version

The Census of Israel and Judah(A)

21 Now (B)Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to [a]number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, (C)and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”

3 And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”

4 Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. 6 (D)But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s [b]word was abominable to Joab.

7 And [c]God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. 8 So David said to God, (E)“I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; (F)but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

9 Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s (G)seer, saying, 10 “Go and tell David, (H)saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”

11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, 12 (I)either [d]three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord—the plague in the land, with the [e]angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

13 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His (J)mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

14 So the Lord sent a (K)plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent [f]an (L)angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As [g]he was destroying, the Lord looked and (M)relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain [h]your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the (N)threshing floor of [i]Ornan the Jebusite.

16 Then David lifted his eyes and (O)saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these (P)sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

18 Therefore, the (Q)angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord. 20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. 21 So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. 22 Then David said to Ornan, [j]“Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the Lord. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

23 But Ornan said to David, “Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.”

24 Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” 25 So (R)David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. 26 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and (S)He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering.

27 So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 (T)For the tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in (U)Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 21:1 take a census of
  2. 1 Chronicles 21:6 command
  3. 1 Chronicles 21:7 Lit. it was evil in the eyes of God
  4. 1 Chronicles 21:12 seven, 2 Sam. 24:13
  5. 1 Chronicles 21:12 Or Angel, and so throughout the chapter
  6. 1 Chronicles 21:15 Or the Angel
  7. 1 Chronicles 21:15 Or He
  8. 1 Chronicles 21:15 Or Your
  9. 1 Chronicles 21:15 Araunah, 2 Sam. 24:16, 18–24
  10. 1 Chronicles 21:22 Lit. Give
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1 Chronicles 21
New English Translation

The Lord Sends a Plague against Israel

21 An adversary[a] opposed[b] Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.[c] 2 David told Joab and the leaders of the army,[d] “Go, count the number of warriors[e] from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we have.”[f] 3 Joab replied, “May the Lord make his army[g] 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?”[h]

4 But the king’s edict stood, despite Joab’s objections.[i] So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel before returning to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported to David the number of warriors.[j] In all Israel there were 1,100,000 sword-wielding[k] soldiers; Judah alone had 470,000 sword-wielding soldiers.[l] 6 Now Joab[m] did not number Levi and Benjamin, for the king’s edict disgusted him. 7 God was also offended by it,[n] so he attacked Israel.

8 David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 9 The Lord told Gad, David’s prophet,[o] 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.”’”[p] 11 Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Pick one of these: 12 three[q] years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords,[r] or three days being struck down by the Lord, during which a plague will invade the land and the angel of the Lord will destroy throughout Israel’s territory.’[s] Now, decide what I should tell the one who sent me.” 13 David 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!”[t] 14 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel, and 70,000 Israelite men died.

15 God sent an angel[u] to ravage[v] Jerusalem. As he was doing so,[w] the Lord watched[x] and relented from[y] his judgment.[z] He told the angel who was destroying, “That’s enough![aa] Stop now!”[ab]

Now the angel of the Lord was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan[ac] the Jebusite. 16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord 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.[ad] 17 David 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![ae] As for these sheep—what have they done? O Lord my God, attack me and my family,[af] but remove the plague from your people!”[ag]

18 So the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to go up and build[ah] an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of the Lord.[ai] 20 While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the messenger, and he and his four sons hid themselves. 21 When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David; he came out from the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face[aj] to the ground. 22 David said to Ornan, “Sell me the threshing floor[ak] so I can build[al] on it an altar for the Lord—I’ll pay top price[am]—so that the plague may be removed[an] from the people.” 23 Ornan told David, “You can have it![ao] My master, the king, may do what he wants.[ap] 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.” 24 King David replied to Ornan, “No, I insist on buying it for top price.[aq] I will not offer to the Lord what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice[ar] that cost me nothing.[as] 25 So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 pieces of gold.[at] 26 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings.[au] He called out to the Lord, and the Lord[av] responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar. 27 The Lord ordered the messenger[aw] to put his sword back into its sheath.

28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord responded to him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 Now 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[ax] in Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to seek God’s will, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 21:1 tn Or “Satan.” The Hebrew word שָׂטָן (satan) refers to an adversary, typically used without the article to refer to anyone in an adversarial role. Used with the article in Job 1-2 and Zech 3:1-2, it refers to “The Satan,” the demonic opponent. Of the heavenly accuser in those passages NIDOTTE (IV, 1231) says that “it is improbable that a specific demonic being is referred to (a possible exception may be 1 Chr 21:1).” TLOT (p. 1269) believes that 1 Chr 21:1 represents the first use of “satan” without the article as a personal name. But see the study note at the end of the verse.
  2. 1 Chronicles 21:1 tn Heb “stood against.”
  3. 1 Chronicles 21:1 tn Heb “and incited David to count Israel.” As v. 5 indicates, David was not interested in a general census, but in determining how much military strength he had.sn The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:1 says, “The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel and he incited David against them, saying: ‘Go, count Israel and Judah!’” The version of the incident in the Book of 2 Samuel gives an underlying theological perspective, while the Chronicler simply describes what happened from a human perspective. Many interpreters and translations render the Hebrew שָׂטָן as a proper name here, “Satan” (NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, the Hebrew term שָׂטָן, which means “adversary,” is used here without the article. Elsewhere when it appears without the article, it refers to a personal or national adversary in the human sphere, the lone exception being Num 22:22, 32, where the angel of the Lord assumes the role of an adversary to Balaam. When referring elsewhere to the spiritual entity known in the NT as Satan, the noun has the article and is used as a title, “the Adversary” (see Job 1:6-9, 12; 2:1-4, 6-7; Zech 3:1-2). In light of usage elsewhere the adversary in 1 Chr 21:1 is likely a human enemy, probably a nearby nation whose hostility against Israel pressured David into numbering the people so he could assess his military strength. For compelling linguistic and literary arguments against taking the noun as a proper name here, see S. Japhet, I & II Chronicles (OTL), 374-75.
  4. 1 Chronicles 21:2 tn Or “people.”
  5. 1 Chronicles 21:2 tn Heb “Go, count Israel.” See the note on “had” in v. 1.
  6. 1 Chronicles 21:2 tn Heb “their number.”
  7. 1 Chronicles 21:3 tn Or “people.”
  8. 1 Chronicles 21:3 tn Heb “Why should it become guilt for Israel?” David’s decision betrays an underlying trust in his own strength rather than in divine provision. See also 1 Chr 27:23-24.
  9. 1 Chronicles 21:4 tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than Joab.”
  10. 1 Chronicles 21:5 tn Heb “and Joab gave to David the number of the numbering of the army [or “people”].”
  11. 1 Chronicles 21:5 tn Heb “a thousand thousands and 100,000.”
  12. 1 Chronicles 21:5 tc The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:9 has variant figures: “In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.”
  13. 1 Chronicles 21:6 tn Heb “he”; the proper name (“Joab”) has been substituted for the pronoun here for stylistic reasons; the proper name occurs at the end of the verse in the Hebrew text, where it has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.
  14. 1 Chronicles 21:7 tn Heb “There was displeasure in the eyes of God concerning this thing.”
  15. 1 Chronicles 21:9 tn Heb “seer.”
  16. 1 Chronicles 21:10 tn Heb “Three I am extending to you; choose for yourself one of them and I will do it to you.”
  17. 1 Chronicles 21:12 tc The parallel text in the MT of 2 Sam 24:13 has “seven,” but LXX has “three” there.
  18. 1 Chronicles 21:12 tc Heb “or three months being swept away from before your enemies and the sword of your enemies overtaking.” The Hebrew term נִסְפֶּה (nispeh, Niphal participle from סָפָה, safah) should probably be emended to נֻסְכָה (nusekhah, Qal infinitive from נוּס [nus] with second masculine singular suffix). See 2 Sam 24:13.
  19. 1 Chronicles 21:12 tn Heb “or three days of the sword of the Lord and plague in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying in all the territory of Israel.”
  20. 1 Chronicles 21:13 tn Heb “There is great distress to me; let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but into the hand of men let me not fall.”
  21. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 24:15 reports that God sent a plague, while 24:16-17 attributes this to the instrumentality of an angel.
  22. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Or “destroy.”
  23. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Heb “while he was destroying.”
  24. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Or “saw.”
  25. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Or “was grieved because of.”
  26. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”
  27. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn For this nuance of the Hebrew word רַב (rav), see BDB 913 s.v. 1.f.
  28. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”
  29. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn In the parallel text in 2 Sam 24:16 this individual is called אֲרַוְנָא (ʾaravnaʾ, “Aravna”), traditionally “Araunah.” The form of the name found here also occurs in vv. 18-28.
  30. 1 Chronicles 21:16 tn Heb “and David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces.”
  31. 1 Chronicles 21:17 tn “and doing evil I did evil.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite form of the verb for emphasis.
  32. 1 Chronicles 21:17 tn Heb “let your hand be on me and on the house of my father.”
  33. 1 Chronicles 21:17 tn Heb “but on your people not for a plague.”
  34. 1 Chronicles 21:18 tn Heb “that he should go up to raise up.”
  35. 1 Chronicles 21:19 tn Heb “and David went up by the word of Gad which he spoke in the name of the Lord.”
  36. 1 Chronicles 21:21 tn Heb “nostrils.”
  37. 1 Chronicles 21:22 tn Heb “the place of the threshing floor.”
  38. 1 Chronicles 21:22 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive here indicates the immediate purpose: “so I can build.”
  39. 1 Chronicles 21:22 tn Heb “For full silver sell to me.”
  40. 1 Chronicles 21:22 tn Following the imperative and first person prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive, this third person prefixed verbal form with vav conjunctive introduces the ultimate purpose: “so the plague may be removed.”
  41. 1 Chronicles 21:23 tn Heb “take for yourself.”
  42. 1 Chronicles 21:23 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
  43. 1 Chronicles 21:24 tn Heb “No, for buying I will buy for full silver.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
  44. 1 Chronicles 21:24 tc The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:24 has the plural “burnt sacrifices.”
  45. 1 Chronicles 21:24 tn Or “without [paying] compensation.”
  46. 1 Chronicles 21:25 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 24:24 says David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for “fifty pieces of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.tn Heb “six hundred shekels of gold.” This would have been about 15 lbs. (6.8 kg) of gold by weight.
  47. 1 Chronicles 21:26 tn Or “tokens of peace.”
  48. 1 Chronicles 21:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  49. 1 Chronicles 21:27 tn Heb “spoke to the messenger.”
  50. 1 Chronicles 21:29 tn Or “high place.”
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