The Lord was once again angry with the Israelites, and he stirred up David, causing him to command people to number the Israelites and the Jews.

David commanded Joab, the commander of the army who followed him, saying, Go and go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know their numbers.

Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God increase a hundred times more, no matter how many people there are, so that my lord the king may see with his own eyes.”. Why should my lord the king be pleased to do this?

But the king’s command was superior to Joab and all the commanders of the army. Joab and the commanders of the army went out from before the king and numbered the people of Israel.

They crossed the Jordan River and camped in Aroer on the right side of the city in the valley of Gad, opposite Jazer,

And they arrived at Gilead and the land of Heshi, and then at Dan Jaam, circling around to Sidon,

Arrived at the fortress of Tyre, and the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and also to Beersheba in the south of Judah.

They traveled all over the land, and after nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem.

Joab reported the total number of the people to the king, and there were eight hundred thousand warriors in Israel who wielded swords. Judah has 500000.

After David numbered the people, he rebuked himself in his heart and prayed to the Lord, saying, I have sinned greatly in doing this. O Lord, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done foolishly.

When David woke up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

Go and tell David, saying, This is what the Lord has said: I have three afflictions, choose one of them, that I may bring them upon you.

So Gad came to David and said to him, “Do you want seven years of famine in the land?”? Was it running away in front of your enemy and being chased for three months? Is there a three-day epidemic in your country? Now you need to ponder your thoughts so that I can reply to those who sent me.

David said to Gad, I am in great difficulty. I wish to fall into the hands of the Lord, for he has abundant mercy. I don’t want to fall into people’s hands.

So the Lord brought a plague on the Israelites from morning until the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba, 70000 people died among the people.

When the angel reached out his hand to Jerusalem to destroy the city, the Lord regretted it and did not bring this disaster. He commanded the angel who destroyed the people, saying, Enough, stop your hand. At that time, the angel of the Lord was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

David saw the angel who destroyed the people and prayed to the Lord, saying, I have sinned and done evil. But what did these sheep do? May your hand attack me and my father’s house.

On that day, Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”.

David went up according to what Gad had said in the name of the Lord.

Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming. He welcomed them and went out, bowing down to the king with his face to the ground,

Why did my lord the king come to my servant? David said, I will buy this threshing floor of yours and build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague among the people may cease.

Araunah said to David, “My lord the king, whatever pleases you, take it and offer it as a sacrifice.”. Look, here are cows for burnt offerings, utensils for threshing grain, and yokes for binding oxen for burning.

King, I, Araunah, offer you all these things. And he said to the king, May the Lord your God please you.

The king said to Araunah, Otherwise. I must buy from you according to the value. I refuse to offer burnt offerings of nothing for nothing to the Lord my God. David bought the threshing floor and oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

David built an altar there to the Lord, offering burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord listened to the people’s requests, and the plague stopped among the Israelites.