David Takes a Census

¹On another occasion the Lord was angry with Israel, and he made David bring trouble on them. The Lord said to him, “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah.”

²So David gave orders to Joab, the commander of his army: “Go with your officers through all the tribes of Israel from one end of the country to the other, and count the people. I want to know how many there are.”

³But Joab answered the king, “Your Majesty, may the Lord your God make the people of Israel a hundred times more numerous than they are now, and may you live to see him do it. But why does Your Majesty want to do this?”

⁴But the king made Joab and his officers obey his order; they left his presence and went out to count the people of Israel.

⁵They crossed the Jordan and camped south of Aroer, the city in the middle of the valley, in the territory of Gad. From there they went north to Jazer,

⁶and on to Gilead and to Kadesh, in Hittite territory. Then they went to Dan, and from Dan they went west to Sidon.

⁷Then they went south to the fortified city of Tyre, on to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites, and finally to Beersheba, in the southern part of Judah.

⁸So after nine months and twenty days they returned to Jerusalem, having traveled through the whole country.

⁹They reported to the king the total number of men capable of military service: 800,000 in Israel and 500,000 in Judah.

¹⁰But after David had taken the census, his conscience began to hurt, and he said to the Lord, “I have committed a terrible sin in doing this! Please forgive me. I have acted foolishly.”

^11-12The Lord said to Gad, David's prophet, “Go and tell David that I am giving him three choices. I will do whichever he chooses.” The next morning, after David had gotten up,

¹³Gad went to him, told him what the Lord had said, and asked, “Which is it to be? Three years of famine in your land or three months of running away from your enemies or three days of an epidemic in your land? Now think it over, and tell me what answer to take back to the Lord.”

¹⁴David answered, “I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by people. Let the Lord himself be the one to punish us, for he is merciful.”

¹⁵So the Lord sent an epidemic on Israel, which lasted from that morning until the time that he had chosen. From one end of the country to the other seventy thousand Israelites died.

¹⁶When the Lord's angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord changed his mind about punishing the people and said to the angel who was killing them, “Stop! That's enough!” The angel was by the threshing place of Araunah, a Jebusite.

¹⁷David saw the angel who was killing the people, and said to the Lord, “I am the guilty one. I am the one who did wrong. What have these poor people done? You should punish me and my family.”

¹⁸That same day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up to Araunah's threshing place and build an altar to the Lord.”

¹⁹David obeyed the Lord's command and went as Gad had told him to.

²⁰Araunah looked down and saw the king and his officials coming up to him. He threw himself on the ground in front of David

²¹and asked, “Your Majesty, why are you here?” David answered, “To buy your threshing place and build an altar for the Lord, in order to stop the epidemic.”

²²“Take it, Your Majesty,” Araunah said, “and offer to the Lord whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an offering on the altar; here are their yokes and the threshing boards to use as fuel.”

²³Araunah gave it all to the king and said to him, “May the Lord your God accept your offering.”

²⁴But the king answered, “No, I will pay you for it. I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.” And he bought the threshing place and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver.

²⁵Then he built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The Lord answered his prayer, and the epidemic in Israel was stopped.

Gifts for Building the Temple

¹King David announced to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the Lord God.

²I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple—gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble.

³Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple.

⁴I have given 115 tons of the finest gold and 265 tons of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple

⁵and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the Lord?”

⁶Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give

⁷the following for the work on the Temple: 190 tons of gold, 380 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron.

⁸Those who had precious stones gave them to the Temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon.

⁹The people had given willingly to the Lord, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.

David Praises God

¹⁰There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the Lord. He said, “Lord God of our ancestor Jacob, may you be praised forever and ever!

¹¹You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all.

¹²All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong.

¹³Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.

¹⁴“Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already.

¹⁵You know, O Lord, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.

¹⁶O Lord, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you.

¹⁷I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you.

¹⁸Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep such devotion forever strong in your people's hearts and keep them always faithful to you.

¹⁹Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations.”

²⁰Then David commanded the people, “Praise the Lord your God!” And the whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honor to the Lord and also to the king.

²¹The following day they killed animals as sacrifices, dedicating them to the Lord, and then gave them to the people to eat. In addition, they sacrificed a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, which they burned whole on the altar. They also brought the offerings of wine.

²²So that day they were very happy as they ate and drank in the presence of the Lord. For a second time they proclaimed Solomon king. In the name of the Lord they anointed him as their ruler and Zadok as priest.

²³So Solomon succeeded his father David on the throne which the Lord had established. He was a successful king, and the whole nation of Israel obeyed him.

²⁴All the officials and soldiers, and even all of David's other sons, promised to be loyal to Solomon as king.

²⁵The Lord made the whole nation stand in awe of Solomon, and he made him more glorious than any other king that had ruled Israel.

Summary of David's Reign

²⁶David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel

²⁷for forty years. He ruled in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three.

²⁸He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king.

²⁹The history of King David from beginning to end is recorded in the records of the three prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad.

³⁰The records tell how he ruled, how powerful he was, and all the things that happened to him, to Israel, and to the surrounding kingdoms.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

¹I praise you, Lord, because you have saved me and kept my enemies from gloating over me.

²I cried to you for help, O Lord my God, and you healed me;

³you kept me from the grave. I was on my way to the depths below, but you restored my life.

⁴Sing praise to the Lord, all his faithful people! Remember what the Holy One has done, and give him thanks!

⁵His anger lasts only a moment, his goodness for a lifetime. Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning.

⁶I felt secure and said to myself, “I will never be defeated.”

⁷You were good to me, Lord; you protected me like a mountain fortress. But then you hid yourself from me, and I was afraid.

⁸I called to you, Lord; I begged for your help:

⁹“What will you gain from my death? What profit from my going to the grave? Are dead people able to praise you? Can they proclaim your unfailing goodness?

¹⁰Hear me, Lord, and be merciful! Help me, Lord!”

¹¹You have changed my sadness into a joyful dance; you have taken away my sorrow and surrounded me with joy.

¹²So I will not be silent; I will sing praise to you. Lord, you are my God; I will give you thanks forever.