1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
2 And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.
3 And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?
4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
5 And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.
6 But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.
8 And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
9 And the LORD spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,
10 Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
11 So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee
12 Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.
13 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.
14 So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
17 And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.
18 Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORD.
20 And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
21 And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.
22 Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.
23 And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all.
24 And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.
25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
26 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.
27 And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.
28 At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.
29 For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.
30 But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
1 And Satan H7854 stood up H5975 against Israel, H3478 and provoked H5496 David H1732 to number H4487 Israel. H3478
2 And David H1732 said H559 to Joab H3097 and to the rulers H8269 of the people, H5971 Go, H3212 number H5608 Israel H3478 from Beersheba H884 even to Dan; H1835 and bring H935 the number H4557 of them to me, that I may know H3045 it.
3 And Joab H3097 answered, H559 The LORD H3068 make his people H5971 an hundred H3967 times H6471 so many more H3254 as they H1992 be: but, my lord H113 the king, H4428 are they not all my lord's H113 servants? H5650 why then doth my lord H113 require H1245 this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass H819 to Israel? H3478
4 Nevertheless the king's H4428 word H1697 prevailed H2388 against Joab. H3097 Wherefore Joab H3097 departed, H3318 and went H1980 throughout all Israel, H3478 and came H935 to Jerusalem. H3389
5 And Joab H3097 gave H5414 the sum H4557 of the number H4662 of the people H5971 unto David. H1732 And all they of Israel H3478 were a thousand H505 thousand H505 and an hundred H3967 thousand H505 men H376 that drew H8025 sword: H2719 and Judah H3063 was four H702 hundred H3967 threescore and ten H7657 thousand H505 men H376 that drew H8025 sword. H2719
6 But Levi H3878 and Benjamin H1144 counted H6485 he not among H8432 them: for the king's H4428 word H1697 was abominable H8581 to Joab. H3097
7 And God H430 was displeased H3415 H5869 with this thing; H1697 therefore he smote H5221 Israel. H3478
8 And David H1732 said H559 unto God, H430 I have sinned H2398 greatly, H3966 because I have done H6213 this thing: H1697 but now, I beseech thee, do away H5674 the iniquity H5771 of thy servant; H5650 for I have done very H3966 foolishly. H5528
9 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Gad, H1410 David's H1732 seer, H2374 saying, H559
10 Go H3212 and tell H1696 David, H1732 saying, H559 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 I offer H5186 thee three H7969 things: choose H977 thee one H259 of them, H2007 that I may do H6213 it unto thee.
11 So Gad H1410 came H935 to David, H1732 and said H559 unto him, Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Choose H6901 thee
12 Either three H7969 years' H8141 famine; H7458 or three H7969 months H2320 to be destroyed H5595 before H6440 thy foes, H6862 while that the sword H2719 of thine enemies H341 overtaketh H5381 thee; or H518 else three H7969 days H3117 the sword H2719 of the LORD, H3068 even the pestilence, H1698 in the land, H776 and the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 destroying H7843 throughout all the coasts H1366 of Israel. H3478 Now therefore advise H7200 thyself what word H1697 I shall bring again H7725 to him that sent H7971 me.
13 And David H1732 said H559 unto Gad, H1410 I am in a great H3966 strait: H6887 let me fall H5307 now into the hand H3027 of the LORD; H3068 for very H3966 great H7227 are his mercies: H7356 but let me not fall H5307 into the hand H3027 of man. H120
14 So the LORD H3068 sent H5414 pestilence H1698 upon Israel: H3478 and there fell H5307 of Israel H3478 seventy H7657 thousand H505 men. H376
15 And God H430 sent H7971 an angel H4397 unto Jerusalem H3389 to destroy H7843 it: and as he was destroying, H7843 the LORD H3068 beheld, H7200 and he repented H5162 him of the evil, H7451 and said H559 to the angel H4397 that destroyed, H7843 It is enough, H7227 stay H7503 now thine hand. H3027 And the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 stood H5975 by the threshingfloor H1637 of Ornan H771 the Jebusite. H2983
16 And David H1732 lifted up H5375 his eyes, H5869 and saw H7200 the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 stand H5975 between the earth H776 and the heaven, H8064 having a drawn H8025 sword H2719 in his hand H3027 stretched out H5186 over Jerusalem. H3389 Then David H1732 and the elders H2205 of Israel, who were clothed H3680 in sackcloth, H8242 fell H5307 upon their faces. H6440
17 And David H1732 said H559 unto God, H430 Is it not I that commanded H559 the people H5971 to be numbered? H4487 even I it is that have sinned H2398 and done evil H7489 indeed; H7489 but as for these sheep, H6629 what have they done? H6213 let thine hand, H3027 I pray thee, O LORD H3068 my God, H430 be on me, and on my father's H1 house; H1004 but not on thy people, H5971 that they should be plagued. H4046
18 Then the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 commanded H559 Gad H1410 to say H559 to David, H1732 that David H1732 should go up, H5927 and set up H6965 an altar H4196 unto the LORD H3068 in the threshingfloor H1637 of Ornan H771 the Jebusite. H2983
19 And David H1732 went up H5927 at the saying H1697 of Gad, H1410 which he spake H1696 in the name H8034 of the LORD. H3068
20 And Ornan H771 turned back, H7725 and saw H7200 the angel; H4397 and his four H702 sons H1121 with him hid H2244 themselves. Now Ornan H771 was threshing H1758 wheat. H2406
21 And as David H1732 came H935 to Ornan, H771 Ornan H771 looked H5027 and saw H7200 David, H1732 and went out H3318 of the threshingfloor, H1637 and bowed H7812 himself to David H1732 with his face H639 to the ground. H776
22 Then David H1732 said H559 to Ornan, H771 Grant H5414 me the place H4725 of this threshingfloor, H1637 that I may build H1129 an altar H4196 therein unto the LORD: H3068 thou shalt grant H5414 it me for the full H4392 price: H3701 that the plague H4046 may be stayed H6113 from the people. H5971
23 And Ornan H771 said H559 unto David, H1732 Take H3947 it to thee, and let my lord H113 the king H4428 do H6213 that which is good H2896 in his eyes: H5869 lo, H7200 I give H5414 thee the oxen H1241 also for burnt offerings, H5930 and the threshing instruments H4173 for wood, H6086 and the wheat H2406 for the meat offering; H4503 I give H5414 it all.
24 And king H4428 David H1732 said H559 to Ornan, H771 Nay; but I will verily H7069 buy H7069 it for the full H4392 price: H3701 for I will not take H5375 that which is thine for the LORD, H3068 nor offer H5927 burnt offerings H5930 without cost. H2600
25 So David H1732 gave H5414 to Ornan H771 for the place H4725 six H8337 hundred H3967 shekels H8255 of gold H2091 by weight. H4948
26 And David H1732 built H1129 there an altar H4196 unto the LORD, H3068 and offered H5927 burnt offerings H5930 and peace offerings, H8002 and called H7121 upon the LORD; H3068 and he answered H6030 him from heaven H8064 by fire H784 upon the altar H4196 of burnt offering. H5930
27 And the LORD H3068 commanded H559 the angel; H4397 and he put up H7725 his sword H2719 again H7725 into the sheath H5084 thereof.
28 At that time H6256 when David H1732 saw H7200 that the LORD H3068 had answered H6030 him in the threshingfloor H1637 of Ornan H771 the Jebusite, H2983 then he sacrificed H2076 there.
29 For the tabernacle H4908 of the LORD, H3068 which Moses H4872 made H6213 in the wilderness, H4057 and the altar H4196 of the burnt offering, H5930 were at that season H6256 in the high place H1116 at Gibeon. H1391
30 But David H1732 could H3201 not go H3212 before H6440 it to enquire H1875 of God: H430 for he was afraid H1204 because H6440 of the sword H2719 of the angel H4397 of the LORD. H3068
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.
2 And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them.
3 And Joab said, Jehovah make his people a hundred times as many as they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt unto Israel?
4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
5 And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.
6 But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them; for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.
8 And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing: but now, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
9 And Jehovah spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,
10 Go and speak unto David, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
11 So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Take which thou wilt:
12 either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before thy foes, while the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of Jehovah, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
13 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Jehovah; for very great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
14 So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was about to destroy, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
17 And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, O Jehovah my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against thy people, that they should be plagued.
18 Then the angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and rear an altar unto Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of Jehovah.
20 And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons that were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
21 And 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.
22 Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build thereon an altar unto Jehovah: for the full price shalt thou give it me, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
23 And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give `thee' the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering; I give it all.
24 And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost.
25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
26 And David built there an altar unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon Jehovah; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering.
27 And Jehovah commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.
28 At that time, when David saw that Jehovah had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.
29 For the tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.
1 And there standeth up an adversary against Israel, and persuadeth David to number Israel,
2 And David saith unto Joab, and unto the heads of the people, `Go, number Israel from Beer-Sheba even unto Dan, and bring unto me, and I know their number.'
3 And Joab saith, `Jehovah doth add to His people as they are a hundred times; are they not, my lord, O king, all of them to my lord for servants? why doth my lord seek this? why is he for a cause of guilt to Israel?'
4 And the word of the king `is' severe against Joab, and Joab goeth out, and goeth up and down in all Israel, and cometh in to Jerusalem.
5 And Joab giveth the account of the numbering of the people unto David, and all Israel is a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand, each drawing sword, and Judah `is' four hundred and seventy thousand, each drawing sword.
6 And Levi and Benjamin he hath not numbered in their midst, for the word of the king was abominable with Joab.
7 And it is evil in the eyes of God concerning this thing, and He smiteth Israel,
8 and David saith unto God, `I have sinned exceedingly, in that I have done this thing; and now, cause to pass away, I pray Thee, the iniquity of Thy servant, for I have acted very foolishly.'
9 And Jehovah speaketh unto Gad, seer of David, saying:
10 `Go, and thou hast spoken unto David, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Three -- I am stretching out unto thee; choose for thee one of these, and I do `it' to thee.'
11 And Gad cometh in unto David, and saith to him, `Thus said Jehovah, Take for thee --
12 either for three years -- famine, or three months to be consumed from the face of thine adversaries, even the sword of thine enemies to overtake, or three days the sword of Jehovah, even pestilence in the land, and a messenger of Jehovah destroying in all the border of Israel; and now, see; what word do I return to Him who is sending me?'
13 And David saith unto Gad, `I am greatly distressed, let me fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for very many `are' His mercies, and into the hand of man let me not fall.'
14 And Jehovah giveth a pestilence in Israel, and there fall of Israel seventy thousand men,
15 and God sendeth a messenger to Jerusalem to destroy it, and as he is destroying Jehovah hath seen, and is comforted concerning the evil, and saith to the messenger who `is' destroying, `Enough, now, cease thy hand.' And the messenger of Jehovah is standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite,
16 and David lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the messenger of Jehovah standing between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem, and David falleth, and the elders, covered with sackcloth, on their faces.
17 And David saith unto God, `Did not I -- I say to number the people? Yea, I it `is' who have sinned, and done great evil: and these, the flock, what did they? O Jehovah, my God, let, I pray Thee, Thy hand be on me, and on the house of my father, and not on Thy people -- to be plagued.'
18 And the messenger of Jehovah spake unto Gad, saying for David, `Surely David doth go up to raise an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.'
19 And David goeth up by the word of Gad, that he spake in the name of Jehovah.
20 And Ornan turneth back, and seeth the messenger, and his four sons `are' with him, hiding themselves, and Ornan is threshing wheat.
21 And David cometh in unto Ornan, and Ornan looketh attentively, and seeth David, and goeth out from the threshing-floor, and boweth himself to David -- face to the earth.
22 And David saith unto Ornan, `Give to me the place of the threshing-floor, and I build in it an altar to Jehovah; for full silver give it to me, and the plague is restrained from the people.'
23 And Ornan saith unto David, `Take to thee -- and my lord the king doth that which is good in his eyes: see, I have given the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for a present; the whole I have given.'
24 And king David saith to Ornan, `Nay, for I surely buy for full silver; for I do not lift up that which is thine to Jehovah, so as to offer a burnt-offering without cost.'
25 And David giveth to Ornan for the place shekels of gold `in' weight six hundred;
26 and David buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and offereth burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and calleth unto Jehovah, and He answereth him with fire from the heavens on the altar of the burnt-offering.
27 And Jehovah saith to the messenger, and he turneth back his sword unto its sheath.
28 At that time when David seeth that Jehovah hath answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificeth there;
29 and the tabernacle of Jehovah that Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt-offering, `are' at that time in a high place, in Gibeon;
30 and David is not able to go before it to seek God, for he hath been afraid because of the sword of the messenger of Jehovah.
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.
2 And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.
3 And Joab said, Jehovah add to his people, how many soever they be, a hundredfold: are they not all, my lord O king, my lord's servants? why does my lord require this thing? why should he become a trespass to Israel?
4 But the king's word prevailed against Joab; and Joab departed, and went through all Israel, and came [again] to Jerusalem.
5 And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. And all they of Israel were eleven hundred thousand men that drew sword; and of Judah, four hundred and seventy thousand men that drew sword.
6 But Levi and Benjamin he did not count among them; for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
7 And God was displeased on account of this thing, and he smote Israel.
8 And David said to God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing; and now, I beseech thee, put away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
9 And Jehovah spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying,
10 Go and speak to David saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I offer thee three [things]; choose one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
11 And Gad came to David, and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah:
12 Choose thee, either three years of famine, or three months to be destroyed before thine adversaries while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee, or three days the sword of Jehovah and the pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying through all the borders of Israel. And now consider what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.
13 And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for his mercies are very great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.
14 And Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; and as he was destroying, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough; withdraw now thine hand. And the angel of Jehovah stood by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah stand between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. And David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
17 And David said to God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? It is I that have sinned and done evil; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, Jehovah my God, be on me and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be smitten.
18 And the angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and rear an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of Jehovah.
20 And Ornan turned back and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
21 And David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with [his] face to the ground.
22 And David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of the threshing-floor, that I may build an altar in it to Jehovah: grant it to me for the full money, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
23 And Ornan said to David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his sight: see, I give the oxen for the burnt-offering, and the threshing-sledges for wood, and the wheat for the oblation; I give it all.
24 And king David said to Ornan, No; but I will in any case buy [them] for the full money; for I will not take that which is thine for Jehovah, to offer up a burnt-offering without cost.
25 And David gave to Ornan for the place in shekels of gold the weight of six hundred [shekels].
26 And David built there an altar to Jehovah, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon Jehovah; and he answered him from the heavens by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering.
27 And Jehovah spoke to the angel; and he put up his sword again into its sheath.
28 At that time when David saw that Jehovah had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.
29 And the tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.
1 Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.
2 David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them.
3 Joab said, Yahweh 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?
4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
5 Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people to David. All those of Israel were one million one hundred thousand men who drew sword: and in Judah were four hundred seventy thousand men who drew sword.
6 But he didn't count Levi and Benjamin among them; for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
7 God was displeased with this thing; therefore he struck Israel.
8 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.
9 Yahweh spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying,
10 Go and speak to David, saying, Thus says Yahweh, I offer you three things: choose you one of them, that I may do it to you.
11 So Gad came to David, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Take which you will:
12 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 the sword of Yahweh, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.
13 David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Yahweh; for very great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
14 So Yahweh sent a pestilence on Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
15 God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was about to destroy, Yahweh saw, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay your hand. The angel of Yahweh was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Yahweh 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.
17 David said to God, Isn't it I who commanded the people to be numbered? It is even I who have sinned and done very wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Yahweh my God, be against me, and against my father's house; but not against your people, that they should be plagued.
18 Then the angel of Yahweh commanded Gad to tell David, that David should go up, and raise an altar to Yahweh in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spoke in the name of Yahweh.
20 Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
21 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.
22 Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build thereon an altar to Yahweh: for the full price shall you give it me, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
23 Ornan said to David, Take it to you, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: behold, I give [you] the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering; I give it all.
24 King David said to Ornan, No; but I will most assuredly buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is your for Yahweh, nor offer a burnt-offering without cost.
25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
26 David built there an altar to Yahweh, and offered burnt offerings and peace-offerings, and called on Yahweh; and he answered him from the sky by fire on the altar of burnt offering.
27 Yahweh commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath of it.
28 At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.
29 For the tent of Yahweh, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
30 But David couldn't go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Yahweh.
1 Now Satan, designing evil against Israel, put into David's mind the impulse to take the number of Israel.
2 And David said to Joab and the captains of the people, Now let all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, be numbered; and give me word so that I may be certain of their number.
3 And Joab said, May the Lord make his people a hundred times more in number than they are; but, my lord king, are they not all my lord's servants? why would my lord have this done? why will he become a cause of sin to Israel?
4 But the king's word was stronger than Joab's. So Joab went out and went through all Israel and came to Jerusalem.
5 And Joab gave David the number of all the people; all the men of Israel, able to take up arms, were one million, one hundred thousand men; and those of Judah were four hundred and seventy thousand men, able to take up arms.
6 But Levi and Benjamin were not numbered among them, for Joab was disgusted with the king's order.
7 And God was not pleased with this thing; so he sent punishment on Israel.
8 Then David said to God, Great has been my sin in doing this; but now, be pleased to take away the sin of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.
9 Then the word of the Lord came to Gad, David's seer, saying,
10 Go and say to David, The Lord says, Three things are offered to you: say which of them you will have, so that I may do it to you.
11 So Gad came to David and said to him, The Lord says, Take whichever you will:
12 Three years when there will not be enough food; or three months of war, when you will go in flight before your haters, being in great danger of the sword; or three days of the sword of the Lord, disease in the land, and the angel of the Lord taking destruction through all the land of Israel. Now give thought to the answer I am to take back to him who sent me.
13 And David said to Gad, This is a hard decision for me to make: let me come into the hands of the Lord, for great are his mercies: let me not come into the hands of men.
14 So the Lord sent disease on Israel, causing the death of seventy thousand men.
15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem for its destruction: and when he was about to do so, the Lord saw, and had regret for the evil, and said to the angel of destruction, It is enough; do no more. Now the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 And David, lifting up his eyes, saw the angel of the Lord there between earth and heaven, with an uncovered sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the responsible men, clothed in haircloth, went down on their faces.
17 And David said to God, Was it not I who gave the order for the people to be numbered? It is I who have done the sin and the great wrong; but these are only sheep; what have they done? let your hand, O Lord God, be lifted up against me and against my family, but not against your people to send disease on them.
18 Then the angel of the Lord gave orders to Gad to say to David that he was to go and put up an altar to the Lord on the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 And David went up, as Gad had said in the name of the Lord.
20 And Ornan, turning back, saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him went to a secret place. Now Ornan was crushing his grain.
21 And when David came, Ornan, looking, saw him, and came out from the grain-floor and went down on his face to the earth before him.
22 Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place where this grain-floor is, so that I may put up an altar here to the Lord: let me have it for its full price; so that this disease may be stopped among the people.
23 And Ornan said to David, Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems right to him. See, I give you the oxen for burned offerings and the grain-cleaning instruments for fire-wood, and the grain for the meal offering; I give it all.
24 And King David said to Ornan, No; I will certainly give you the full price for it, because I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or give a burned offering without payment.
25 So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.
26 And David put up an altar there to the Lord, offering burned offerings and peace-offerings with prayers to the Lord; and he gave him an answer from heaven, sending fire on the altar of burned offering.
27 Then the Lord gave orders to the angel, and he put back his sword into its cover.
28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had given him an answer on the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he made an offering there.
29 For the House of the Lord, which Moses had made in the waste land, and the altar of burned offerings, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
30 But David was not able to go before it to get directions from the Lord, so great was his fear of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 21
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 21 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Numbering of the People, the Pestilence, and the Determination of the Site for the Temple - 1 Chronicles 21-22:1
The motive which influenced the king, in causing a census of the men capable of bearing arms throughout the kingdom to be taken in the last year of his reign, has already been discussed in the remarks on 2 Sam, where we have also pointed out what it was which was so sinful and displeasing to God in the undertaking. We have, too, in the same place commented upon the various stages of its progress, taking not of the differences which exist between the numbers given in 2 Samuel 24:9, 2 Samuel 24:13, 2 Samuel 24:24, and those in our record, 1 Chronicles 21:5, 1 Chronicles 21:12, 1 Chronicles 21:25; so that here we need only compare the two accounts somewhat more minutely. They correspond not merely in the main points of their narrative of the event, but in many places make use of the same terms, which shows that they have both been derived from the same source; but, as the same time, very considerable divergences are found in the conception and representation of the matter. In the very first verse, David's purpose is said in 2nd Samuel to be the effect of the divine anger; in the Chronicle it is the result of the influence of Satan on David. Then, in 2 Samuel 24:4-9, the numbering of the people is narrated at length, while in the Chronicle, 1 Chronicles 21:4-6, only the results are recorded, with the remark that Joab did not complete the numbering, Levi and Benjamin not being included, because the king's command was an abomination to him. On the other hand, the Chronicle, in 1 Chronicles 21:19-27, narrates the purchase of Araunah's threshing-floor for a place of sacrifice, and gives not merely a more circumstantial account of David's offering than we find in Samuel (2 Samuel 24:19-25), but also states, in conclusion (vv. 28-30), the circumstances which induced David to offer sacrifice even afterwards, on the altar which he had built at the divine command, on the threshing-floor bought of Araunah. The purpose which the author of the Chronicle had in view in making this concluding remark is manifest from 1 Chronicles 22:1, which should properly be connected with 1 Chron 21: “And David said, Here is the house of Jahve God, and here the altar for the burnt-offering of Israel.” Only in this verse, as Bertheau has correctly remarked, do we find the proper conclusion of the account of the numbering of the people, the pestilence, and the appearance of the angel, and yet it is omitted in the book of Samuel; “although it is manifest from the while connection, and the way in which the history of David and Solomon is presented in the books of Samuel and Kings, that the account is given there also only to point out the holiness of the place where Solomon built the temple even in the time of David, and to answer the question why that particular place was chosen for the site of the sanctuary.” This remark is perfectly just, if it be not understood to mean that the author of our book of Samuel has given a hint of this purpose in his narrative; for the conclusion of 2 Samuel 24:25, “And Jahve was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed,” is irreconcilable with any such idea. This concluding sentence, and the omission of any reference to the temple, or to the appointment of the altar built on the threshing-floor of Araunah to be a place of sacrifice for Israel, and of the introductory words of the narrative, “And again the wrath of Jahve was kindled against Israel, and moved David against them,” (2 Samuel 24:1), plainly show that the author of the book of Samuel regarded, and has here narrated, the event as a chastisement of the people of Israel for their rebellion against the divinely chosen king, in the revolts of Absalom and Sheba (cf. the remarks on 2 Samuel 24:1). The author of the Chronicle, again, has without doubt informed us of the numbering of the people, and the pestilence, with its results, with the design of showing how God Himself had chosen and consecrated this spot to be the future place of worship for Israel, by the appearance of the angel, the command given to David through the prophet Gad to build an altar where the angel had appeared, and to sacrifice thereon, and by the gracious acceptance of this offering, fire having come down from heaven to devour it. For this purpose he did not require to give any lengthened account of the numbering of the people, since it was of importance to him only as being the occasion of David's humiliation.
“And Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to number Israel.” The mention of Satan as the seducer of David is not to be explained merely by the fact that the Israelites in later times traced up everything contrary to God's will to this evil spirit, but in the present case arises from the author's design to characterize David's purpose from the very beginning as an ungodly thing.
The naming of the העם שׂרי along with Joab is in accordance with the circumstances, for we learn from 2 Samuel 24:4 that Joab did not carry out the numbering of the people alone, but was assisted by the captains of the host. The object of אלי והביאוּ , which is not expressed, the result of the numbering, may be supplied from the context. No objection need be taken to the simple כּהם of 1 Chronicles 21:3, instead of the double וכהם כּהם in Samuel. The repetition of the same word, “there are so and so many of them,” is a peculiarity of the author of the book of Samuel (cf. 2 Samuel 12:8), while the expression in the Chronicle corresponds to that in Deuteronomy 1:11. With the words וגו אדני הלא , “Are they not, my lord king, all my lord's servants,” i.e., subject to him? Joab allays the suspicion that he grudged the king the joy of reigning over a very numerous people. In 2 Samuel 24:3 the thought takes another turn; and the last clause, “Why should it (the thing or the numbering) become a trespass for Israel?” is wanting. אשׁמה denotes here a trespass which must be atoned for, not one which one commits. The meaning is therefore, Why should Israel expiate thy sin, in seeking thy glory in the power and greatness of thy kingdom? On the numbers, 1 Chronicles 21:5, see on 2 Samuel 24:9. In commenting on 1 Chronicles 21:6, which is not to be found in Samuel, Berth. defends the statement that Joab did not make any muster of the tribes Levi and Benjamin, against the objections of de Wette and Gramberg, as it is done in my apologet. Versuche, Sa. 349ff., by showing that the tribe of Levi was by law (cf. Numbers 1:47-54) exempted from the censuses of the people taken for political purposes; and the tribe of Benjamin was not numbered, because David, having become conscious of his sin, stopped the numbering before it was completed (cf. also the remarks on 2 Samuel 24:9). The reason given, “for the king's word was an abomination unto Joab,” is certainly the subjective opinion of the historian, but is shown to be well founded by the circumstances, for Joab disapproved of the king's design from the beginning; (cf. 2 Samuel 24:3 and 1 Chronicles 21:3). - In 1 Chronicles 21:7, the author of the Chronicle, instead of ascribing the confession of sin on David's part which follows to the purely subjective motive stated in the words, “and David's heart smote him,” i.e., his conscience ( 2 Samuel 24:10 ), has ascribed the turn matters took to objective causes: the thing displeased God; and anticipating the course of events, he remarks straightway, “and He (God) smote Israel.” This, however, is no reason for thinking, with Berth., that the words have arisen out of a misinterpretation or alteration of 2 Samuel 24:10 ; for such anticipatory remarks, embracing the contents of the succeeding verses, not unfrequently occur in the historical books (cf. e.g., 1 Kings 6:14; 1 Kings 7:2). - In reference to 1 Chronicles 21:8-10, see on 2 Samuel 24:10-16. - In 1 Chronicles 21:12, נספּה has not come into the text by mistake or by misreading נסך (2 Samuel 24:13), but is original, the author of the Chronicle describing the two latter evils more at length than Samuel does. The word is not a participle, but a noun formed from the participle, with the signification “perishing” (the being snatched away). The second parallel clause, “the sword of thine enemies to attaining” (so that it reach thee), serves to intensify. So also in reference to the third evil, the יהוה חרב which precedes בּארץ דּבר , and the parallel clause added to both: “and the angel of the Lord destroying in the whole domain of Israel.”
ליר מלאך האלהים ויּשׁלח , “And God sent an angel towards Jerusalem,” gives no suitable sense. Not because of the improbability that God sent the angel with the commission to destroy Jerusalem, and at the same moment gives the contrary command, “Stay now,” etc. (Berth.); for the reason of this change is given in the intermediate clause, “and at the time of the destroying the Lord repented it,” and command and prohibition are not given “at the same moment;” but the difficulty lies in the indefinite מלאך (without the article). For since the angel of Jahve is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 21:12 as the bringer of the pestilence, in our verse, if it treats of the sending of this angel to execute the judgment spoken of, המּלאך must necessarily be used, or המּלאך את המּלא , as in 1 Chronicles 21:16; the indefinite מלאך can by no means be used for it. In 2 Samuel 24:16 we read, instead of the words in question, יר המּלאך ידו ויּשׁלח , “and the angel stretched out his hand towards Jerusalem;” and Bertheau thinks that the reading האלהים (in the Chron.) has arisen out of that, by the letters ידו ה being exchanged for יהוה , and אלהים being substituted for this divine name, as is often the case in the Chronicle; while Movers, S. 91, on the contrary, considers the reading of the Chronicle to be original, and would read יהוה ישׁלח in Samuel. But in that way Movers leaves the omission of the article before מלאך in the Chronicle unexplained; and Bertheau's conjecture is opposed by the improbability of such a misunderstanding of a phrase so frequent and so unmistakeable as ידו ישׁלח , as would lead to the exchange supposed, ever occurring. But besides that, in Samuel the simple המּלאך is strange, for the angel has not been spoken of there at all before, and the lxx have consequently explained the somewhat obscure המּלאך by ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ Θεοῦ . This explanation suggests the way in which the reading of our text arose. The author of the Chronicle, although he had already made mention of the יהוה מלאך in 1 Chronicles 21:12, wrote in 1 Chronicles 21:15 האלהים מלאך האלהי ויּשׁלח , “the angel of God stretched (his hand) out towards Jerusalem,” using האלהים instead of יהוה , - as, for example, in Judges 6:20, Judges 6:22; Judges 13:6, Judges 13:9, and Judges 13:13, Judges 13:15, Judges 13:17. האלהים מלאך alternates with יהוה מלאך , and omitting ידו with ישׁלח , as is often done, e.g., 2 Samuel 6:6; Psalms 18:17, etc. By a copyist מלאך and האלהים have been transposed, and מלאך was then taken by the Masoretes for an accusative, and pointed accordingly. The expression is made clearer by וּכהשׁחית , “And as he destroyed, Jahve saw, and it repented Him of the evil.” The idea is: Just as the angel had begun to destroy Jerusalem, it repented God. רב , adverb, “enough,” as in 1 Kings 19:4, etc., with a dativ commodi , Deuteronomy 1:6, etc. Bertheau has incorrectly denied this meaning of the word, connecting רב with בּעם in 2 Samuel 24:16, and desiring to alter our text to make it conform to that. In 2nd Samuel also רב is an adverb, as Thenius also acknowledges.
The account of David's repentant beseeching of the Lord to turn away the primitive judgment, and the word of the Lord proclaimed to him by the prophet, commanding him to build an altar to the Lord in the place where the destroying angel visibly appeared, together with the carrying out of this divine command by the purchase of Araunah's threshing-floor, the erection of an altar, and the offering of burnt-offering, is given more at length in the Chronicle than in 2 Samuel 24:17-25, where only David's negotiation with Araunah is more circumstantially narrated than in the Chronicle. In substance both accounts perfectly correspond, except that in the Chronicle several subordinate circumstances are preserved, which, as being minor points, are passed over in Samuel. In 1 Chronicles 21:16, the description of the angel's appearance, that he had a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, and the statement that David and the elders, clad in sackcloth (garments indicating repentance), fell down before the Lord; in 1 Chronicles 21:20, the mention of Ornan's (Araunah's) sons, who hid themselves on beholding the angel, and of the fact that Ornan was engaged in threshing wheat when David came to him; and the statement in 1 Chronicles 21:26, that fire came down from heaven upon the altar-are examples of such minor points. We have already commented on this section in our remarks on 2 Samuel 24:17-25, and the account in the Chronicle is throughout correct and easily understood. Notwithstanding this, however, Bertheau, following Thenius and Bצttcher, conjectures that the text is in several verses corrupt, and wishes to correct them by 2nd Samuel. But these critics are misled by the erroneous presumption with which they entered upon the interpretation of the Chronicle, that the author of it used as his authority, and revised, our Masoretic text of the second book of Samuel. Under the influence of this prejudice, emendations are proposed which are stamped with their own unlikelihood, and rest in part even on misunderstandings of the narrative in the book of Samuel. Of this one or two illustrations will be sufficient. Any one who compares 2 Samuel 24:17 (Sam.) with 1 Chronicles 21:16 and 1 Chronicles 21:17 of the Chronicle, without any pre-formed opinions, will see that what is there (Sam.) concisely expressed is more clearly narrated in the Chronicle. The beginning of 1 Chronicles 21:17, “And David spake unto Jahve,” is entirely without connection, as the thought which forms the transition from 1 Chronicles 21:16 to 1 Chronicles 21:17, viz., that David was moved by the sight of the destroying angel to pray to God that the destruction might be turned away, is only brought in afterwards in the subordinate clause, “on seeing the angel.” This abrupt form of expression is got rid of in the Chronicle by the clause: “And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel ... and fell ... upon his face; and David spake to God.” That which in Samuel is crushed away into an infinitive clause subordinate to the principle sentence, precedes in the Chronicle, and is circumstantially narrated. Under these circumstances, of course, the author of the Chronicle could not afterwards in 1 Chronicles 21:17 make use of the clause, “on seeing the angel who smote the people,” without tautology. Berth., on the contrary, maintains that 1 Chronicles 21:16 is an interpolation of the chronicler, and proposes then to cull out from the words and letters בעם המכה המלאך את בראתו (Sam.), the words בעם למנותי אמרתי בראתו (1 Chronicles 21:17), great use being made in the process of the ever ready auxiliaries, mistakes, and a text which has become obscure. This is one example out of many. 1 Chronicles 21:16 of the Chronicle is not an addition which the Chronicle has interpolated between 2 Samuel 24:16-17 of Samuel, but a more detailed representation of the historical course of things. No mention is made in 2nd Samuel of the drawn sword in the angel's hand, because there the whole story is very concisely narrated. This detail need not have been borrowed from Numbers 22:23, for the drawn sword is a sensible sign that the angle's mission is punitive; and the angel, who is said to have visibly appeared in 2nd Samuel also, could be recognised as the bearer of the judicial pestilence only by this emblem, such recognition being plainly the object of his appearance. The mention of the elders along with David as falling on their faces in prayer, clad in sackcloth, will not surprise any reader or critic who considers that in the case of so fearful a pestilence the king would not be alone in praying God to turn away the judgment. Besides, from the mention of the עבדים of the king who went with David to Ornan (2 Samuel 24:20), we learn that the king did not by himself take steps to turn away the plague, but did so along with his servants. In the narrative in 2nd Samuel, which confines itself to the main point, the elders are not mentioned, because only of David was it recorded that his confession of sin brought about the removal of the plague. Just as little can we be surprised that David calls his command to number the people the delictum by which he had brought the judgment of the plague upon himself. - To alter בּדבר , 1 Chronicles 21:19, into כּדבר , as Berth. wishes, would show little intelligence. בּדבר , at Gad's word David went up, is proved by Numbers 31:16 to be good Hebrew, and is perfectly suitable.
ארנן ויּשׁב , “and Ornan turned him about,” is translated by Berth. incorrectly, “then Ornan turned back,” who then builds on this erroneous interpretation, which is contrary to the context, a whole nest of conjectures. ויּשׁב is said to have arisen out of ויּשׁקף , the succeeding המּלאך out of המּלך , עמּו בּניו ערבּעת out of עליו עברים עבדיו (2 Samuel 24:20), “by mistake and further alteration.” In saying this, however, he himself has not perceived that 2 Samuel 24:20 (Sam.) does not correspond to the 1 Chronicles 21:20 of the Chronicle at all, but to the 1 Chronicles 21:21, where the words, “and Araunah looked out ( ישׁקף ) and saw the king,” as parallel to the words, “and Ornan looked ( יבּט ) and saw David.” The 1 Chronicles 21:20 of the Chronicle contains a statement which is not found in Samuel, that Ornan (Araunah), while threshing with his four sons, turned and saw the angel, and being terrified at the sight, hid himself with his sons. After that, David with his train came from Zion to the threshing-floor in Mouth Moriah, and Araunah looking out saw the king, and came out of the threshing-floor to meet him, with deep obeisance. This narrative contains nothing improbable, nothing to justify us in having recourse to critical conjecture.
The infinitive העלות is very frequently used in Hebrew as the continuation of the verb. fin. , and is found in all the books of the Old Testament (cf. the collection of passages illustrative of this peculiar form of brief expression, which We. gives, §351, c ), and that not only with regard to the infin. absol., but the infin. constr. also. David's answer to Ornan's offer to give him the place for the altar, and the cattle, plough, and wheat for the burnt-offering, was therefore: “no, I will buy it for full price; I will not take what belongs to thee for Jahve, and bring burnt-offerings without cost,” i.e., without having paid the price for them.
As to the different statements of the price, cf. on 2 Samuel 24:24.
In 2 Samuel 24:25 the conclusion of this event is shortly narrated thus: David offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and Jahve was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. In the Chronicle we have a fuller statement of the יהוה יעתר in 1 Chronicles 21:26 . David called upon Jahve, and He answered with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt- offering (1 Chronicles 21:27); and Jahve spake to the angel, and he returned the sword into its sheath. The returning of the sword into its sheath is a figurative expression for the stopping of the pestilence; and the fire which came down from heaven upon the altar of burnt-offering was the visible sign by which the Lord assured the king that his prayer had been heard, and his offering graciously accepted. The reality of this sign of the gracious acceptance of an offering is placed beyond doubt by the analogous cases, Leviticus 9:24; 1 Kings 18:24, 1 Kings 18:38, and 2 Chronicles 7:1. It was only by this sign of the divine complacence that David learnt that the altar built upon the threshing-floor of Araunah had been chosen by the Lord as the place where Israel should always thereafter offer their burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as is further recorded in 1 Chronicles 21:28-30. and in 1 Chronicles 22:1. From the cessation of the pestilence in consequence of his prayer and sacrifice, David could only draw the conclusion that God had forgiven him his transgression, but could not have known that God had chosen the place where he had built the altar for the offering demanded by God as a permanent place of sacrifice. This certainly he obtained only by the divine answer, and this answer was the fire which came down upon the altar of burnt-offering and devoured the sacrifice. This 1 Chronicles 21:28 states: “At the time when he saw that Jahve had answered him at the threshing-floor of Ornan, he offered sacrifice there,” i.e., from that time forward; so that we may with Berth. translate שׁם ויּזבּח , “then he was wont to offer sacrifice there.” In 1 Chronicles 21:29 and 1 Chronicles 21:30 we have still further reasons given for David's continuing to offer sacrifices at the threshing-floor of Ornan. The legally sanctioned place of sacrifice for Israel was still at that time the tabernacle, the Mosaic sanctuary with its altar of burnt-offering, which then stood on the high place at Gibeon (cf. 1 Chronicles 16:39). Now David had indeed brought the ark of the covenant, which had been separated from the tabernacle from the time of Samuel, to Zion, and had there not only erected a tent for it, but had also built an altar and established a settled worship there (1 Chron 17), yet without having received any express command of God regarding it; so that this place of worship was merely provisional, intended to continue only until the Lord Himself should make known His will in the matter in some definite way. When therefore David, after the conquest of his enemies, had obtained rest round about, he had formed the resolution to make an end of this provisional separation of the ark from the tabernacle, and the existence of two sacrificial altars, by building a temple; but the Lord had declared to him by the prophet Nathan, that not he, but his son and successor on the throne, should build Him a temple. The altar by the ark in Zion, therefore, continued to co-exist along with the altar of burnt-offering at the tabernacle in Gibeon, without being sanctioned by God as the place of sacrifice for the congregation of Israel. Then when David, by ordering the numbering of the people, had brought guilt upon the nation, which the Lord so heavily avenged upon them by the pestilence, he should properly, as king, have offered a sin-offering and a burnt-offering in the national sanctuary at Gibeon, and there have sought the divine favour for himself and for the whole people. But the Lord said unto him by the prophet Gad, that he should bring his offering neither in Gibeon, nor before the ark on Zion, but in the threshing-floor of Ornan (Araunah), on the altar which he was there to erect. This command, however, did not settle the place where he was afterwards to sacrifice. But David - so it runs, 1 Chronicles 21:29. - sacrificed thenceforward in the threshing-floor of Ornan, not at Gibeon in the still existent national sanctuary, because he (according to 1 Chronicles 21:30) “could not go before it ( לפניו ) to seek God, for he was terrified before the sword of the angel of Jahve.” This statement does not, however, mean, ex terrore visionis angelicae infirmitatem corporis contraxerat (J. H. Mich.), nor yet, “because he, being struck and overwhelmed by the appearance of the angel, did not venture to offer sacrifices elsewhere” (Berth.), nor, “because the journey to Gibeon was too long for him” (O. v. Gerl.). None of these interpretations suit either the words or the context. חרב מפּני נבעת , terrified before the sword, does indeed signify that the sword of the angel, or the angel with the sword, hindered him from going to Gibeon, but not during the pestilence, when the angel stood between heaven and earth by the threshing-floor of Araunah with the drawn sword, but - according to the context - afterwards, when the angelophany had ceased, as it doubtless did simultaneously with the pestilence. The words וגו נבעת כּי can therefore have no other meaning, than that David's terror before the sword of the angel caused him to determine to sacrifice thereafter, not at Gibeon, but at the threshing-floor of Araunah; or that, since during the pestilence the angel's sword had prevented him from going to Gibeon, he did not venture ever afterwards to go. But the fear before the sword of the angel is in substance the terror of the pestilence; and the pestilence had hindered him from sacrificing at Gibeon, because Gibeon, notwithstanding the presence of the sanctuary there, with the Mosaic altar, had not been spared by the pestilence. David considered this circumstance as normative ever for the future, and he always afterwards offered his sacrifices in the place pointed out to him, and said, as we further read in 1 Chronicles 22:1, “Here ( הוּא זה , properly this, mas. or neut.) is the house of Jahve God, and here is the altar for the burnt-offering of Israel.” He calls the site of the altar in the threshing-floor of Araunah יהוה בּית , because there Jahve had manifested to him His gracious presence; cf. Genesis 28:17.