| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. | 1An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had. |
| 2So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” | 2David told Joab and the leaders of the army, "Go, count the number of warriors from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we have." |
| 3And 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?” | 3Joab replied, "May the LORD make his army 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?" |
| 4Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. | 4But the king's edict stood, despite Joab's objections. So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel before returning to Jerusalem. |
| 5Then 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. | 5Joab reported to David the number of warriors. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 sword-wielding soldiers; Judah alone had 470,000 sword-wielding soldiers. |
| 6But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. | 6Now Joab did not number Levi and Benjamin, for the king's edict disgusted him. |
| 7And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. | 7God was also offended by it, so he attacked Israel. |
| 8So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” | 8David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly." |
| 9Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, | 9The LORD told Gad, David's prophet, |
| 10“Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” | 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."'" |
| 11So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Choose for yourself, | 11Gad went to David and told him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Pick one of these: |
| 12either 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 angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” | 12three years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords, or three days being struck down by the LORD, during which a plague will invade the land and the LORD's messenger will destroy throughout Israel's territory.' Now, decide what I should tell the one who sent me." |
| 13And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” | 13David 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!" |
| 14So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. | 14So the LORD sent a plague through Israel, and 70,000 Israelite men died. |
| 15And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the LORD looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. | 15God sent an angel to ravage Jerusalem. As he was doing so, the LORD watched and relented from his judgment. He told the angel who was destroying, "That's enough! Stop now!" Now the LORD's angel was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. |
| 16Then David lifted his eyes and 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. | 16David looked up and saw the LORD's messenger 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. |
| 17And 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 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.” | 17David 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! As for these sheep--what have they done? O LORD my God, attack me and my family, but remove the plague from your people!" |
| 18Therefore, the 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. | 18So the LORD's messenger told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar for the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. |
| 19So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD. | 19So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of the LORD. |
| 20Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. | 20While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the messenger, and he and his four sons hid themselves. |
| 21So 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. | 21When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David; he came out from the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face to the ground. |
| 22Then David said to Ornan, “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.” | 22David said to Ornan, "Sell me the threshing floor so I can build on it an altar for the LORD--I'll pay top price--so that the plague may be removed from the people." |
| 23But 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.” | 23Ornan told David, "You can have it! My master, the king, may do what he wants. 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." |
| 24Then 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.” | 24King David replied to Ornan, "No, I insist on buying it for top price. I will not offer to the LORD what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice that cost me nothing. |
| 25So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. | 25So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 pieces of gold. |
| 26And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the LORD; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering. | 26David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. He called out to the LORD, and the LORD responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar. |
| 27So the LORD commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath. | 27The LORD ordered the messenger to put his sword back into its sheath. |
| 28At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. | 28At that time, when David saw that the LORD responded to him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. |
| 29For 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 Gibeon. | 29Now 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 in Gibeon. |
| 30But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD. | 30But David could not go before it to seek God's will, for he was afraid of the sword of the LORD's messenger. |
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