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20 In the spring, at the time when kings normally conduct wars,[a] Joab led the army into battle and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab defeated Rabbah and tore it down. David took the crown from the head of their king[b] and wore it[c] (its weight was a talent[d] of gold and it was set with precious stones). He took a large amount of plunder from the city. He removed the city’s residents and made them labor with saws, iron picks, and axes.[e] This was his policy[f] with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

Battles with the Philistines

Later there was a battle[g] with the Philistines in Gezer.[h] At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Sippai,[i] one of the descendants of the Rephaim, and the Philistines[j] were subdued.

There was another battle with the Philistines in which Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite,[k] whose spear had a shaft as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom.[l]

In a battle in Gath[m] there was a large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all! He too was a descendant of Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea,[n] David’s brother, killed him.

These were the descendants of Rapha who lived in Gath; they were killed[o] by the hand of David and his soldiers.[p]

The Lord Sends a Plague against Israel

21 An adversary[q] opposed[r] Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.[s] David told Joab and the leaders of the army,[t] “Go, count the number of warriors[u] from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we have.”[v] Joab replied, “May the Lord make his army[w] 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?”[x]

But the king’s edict stood, despite Joab’s objections.[y] So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel before returning to Jerusalem. Joab reported to David the number of warriors.[z] In all Israel there were 1,100,000 sword-wielding[aa] soldiers; Judah alone had 470,000 sword-wielding soldiers.[ab] Now Joab[ac] did not number Levi and Benjamin, for the king’s edict disgusted him. God was also offended by it,[ad] so he attacked Israel.

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.” The Lord told Gad, David’s prophet,[ae] 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.”’”[af] 11 Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Pick one of these: 12 three[ag] years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords,[ah] 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.’[ai] 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!”[aj] 14 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel, and 70,000 Israelite men died.

15 God sent an angel[ak] to ravage[al] Jerusalem. As he was doing so,[am] the Lord watched[an] and relented from[ao] his judgment.[ap] He told the angel who was destroying, “That’s enough![aq] Stop now!”[ar]

Now the angel of the Lord was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan[as] 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.[at] 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![au] As for these sheep—what have they done? O Lord my God, attack me and my family,[av] but remove the plague from your people!”[aw]

18 So the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to go up and build[ax] 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.[ay] 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[az] to the ground. 22 David said to Ornan, “Sell me the threshing floor[ba] so I can build[bb] on it an altar for the Lord—I’ll pay top price[bc]—so that the plague may be removed[bd] from the people.” 23 Ornan told David, “You can have it![be] My master, the king, may do what he wants.[bf] 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.[bg] I will not offer to the Lord what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice[bh] that cost me nothing.[bi] 25 So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 pieces of gold.[bj] 26 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings.[bk] He called out to the Lord, and the Lord[bl] responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar. 27 The Lord ordered the messenger[bm] 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[bn] 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. 22 David then said, “This is the place where the temple of the Lord God will be, along with the altar for burnt sacrifices for Israel.”

David Orders a Temple to Be Built

David ordered the resident foreigners[bo] in the land of Israel to be called together. He appointed some of them to be stonecutters to chisel stones for the building of God’s temple. David supplied a large amount of iron for the nails of the doors of the gates and for braces, more bronze than could be weighed, and more cedar logs than could be counted. (The Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large amount of cedar logs to David.)

David said, “My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man,[bp] and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations.[bq] Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.” So David made extensive preparations before he died.

He summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. David said to Solomon: “My son, I really wanted[br] to build a temple to honor[bs] the Lord my God. But this was the Lord’s message to me: ‘You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me,[bt] for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me. Look, you will have a son, who will be a peaceful man.[bu] I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side.[bv] Indeed, Solomon[bw] will be his name; I will give Israel peace and quiet during his reign.[bx] 10 He will build a temple to honor me;[by] he will become my son, and I will become his father. I will grant to his dynasty permanent rule over Israel.’[bz]

11 “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you! May you succeed and build a temple for the Lord your God, just as he announced you would.[ca] 12 Only may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he places you in charge of Israel, so you may obey[cb] the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will succeed, if you carefully obey the rules and regulations which the Lord ordered Moses to give to Israel.[cc] Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic![cd] 14 Now, look, I have made every effort to supply what is needed to build the Lord’s temple.[ce] I have stored up 100,000 talents[cf] of gold, 1,000,000 talents[cg] of silver, and so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, as well as wood and stones. Feel free to add more! 15 You also have available many workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters,[ch] and an innumerable array of workers who are skilled 16 in using gold, silver, bronze, and iron.[ci] Get up and begin the work! May the Lord be with you!”

17 David ordered all the officials of Israel to support[cj] his son Solomon. 18 He told them,[ck] “The Lord your God is with you![cl] He has made you secure on every side,[cm] for he handed over to me the inhabitants of the region[cn] and the region[co] is subdued before the Lord and his people. 19 Now seek the Lord your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being![cp] Get up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God! Then you can bring[cq] the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy items dedicated to God’s service[cr] into the temple that is built to honor the Lord.”[cs]

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 20:1 tn Heb “and it was at the time of the turning of the year, at the time of the going out of kings.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 20:2 tc The translation follows the MT, which reads “of their king”; the LXX and Vulgate read “of Milcom” (cf. 1 Kgs 11:5). Milcom, also known as Molech, was the god of the Ammonites.
  3. 1 Chronicles 20:2 tn Heb “and it was on the head of David.”
  4. 1 Chronicles 20:2 sn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6.
  5. 1 Chronicles 20:3 tc The Hebrew text reads “saws,” but since saws were just mentioned, it is preferable to emend מְגֵרוֹת (megerot, “saws”) to מַגְזְרוֹת (magzerot, “axes”).
  6. 1 Chronicles 20:3 tn Heb “and so he would do.”
  7. 1 Chronicles 20:4 tn Heb “battle stood.”
  8. 1 Chronicles 20:4 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:18 identifies this site as “Gob.”
  9. 1 Chronicles 20:4 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:18 has the variant spelling “Saph.”
  10. 1 Chronicles 20:4 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. 1 Chronicles 20:5 tc The Hebrew text reads, “Elchanan son of Jair killed Lachmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite.” But it is likely that the accusative marker in front of לַחְמִי (lakhmi, “Lachmi”) was originally בֵּית (bet), and that אֶת־לַחְמִי (ʾet lakhmi) should be emended to בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי (bet hallakhmi, “the Bethlehemite”). See 2 Sam 21:19.
  12. 1 Chronicles 20:5 tc See tc note on the parallel passage in 2 Sam 21:19.
  13. 1 Chronicles 20:6 tn Heb “and there was another battle, in Gath.”
  14. 1 Chronicles 20:7 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:21 has the variant spelling “Shimeah.”
  15. 1 Chronicles 20:8 tn Heb “they fell.”
  16. 1 Chronicles 20:8 tn Heb “his servants.”
  17. 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.
  18. 1 Chronicles 21:1 tn Heb “stood against.”
  19. 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.
  20. 1 Chronicles 21:2 tn Or “people.”
  21. 1 Chronicles 21:2 tn Heb “Go, count Israel.” See the note on “had” in v. 1.
  22. 1 Chronicles 21:2 tn Heb “their number.”
  23. 1 Chronicles 21:3 tn Or “people.”
  24. 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.
  25. 1 Chronicles 21:4 tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than Joab.”
  26. 1 Chronicles 21:5 tn Heb “and Joab gave to David the number of the numbering of the army [or “people”].”
  27. 1 Chronicles 21:5 tn Heb “a thousand thousands and 100,000.”
  28. 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.”
  29. 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.
  30. 1 Chronicles 21:7 tn Heb “There was displeasure in the eyes of God concerning this thing.”
  31. 1 Chronicles 21:9 tn Heb “seer.”
  32. 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.”
  33. 1 Chronicles 21:12 tc The parallel text in the MT of 2 Sam 24:13 has “seven,” but LXX has “three” there.
  34. 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.
  35. 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.”
  36. 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.”
  37. 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.
  38. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Or “destroy.”
  39. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Heb “while he was destroying.”
  40. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Or “saw.”
  41. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Or “was grieved because of.”
  42. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”
  43. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn For this nuance of the Hebrew word רַב (rav), see BDB 913 s.v. 1.f.
  44. 1 Chronicles 21:15 tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”
  45. 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.
  46. 1 Chronicles 21:16 tn Heb “and David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces.”
  47. 1 Chronicles 21:17 tn “and doing evil I did evil.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite form of the verb for emphasis.
  48. 1 Chronicles 21:17 tn Heb “let your hand be on me and on the house of my father.”
  49. 1 Chronicles 21:17 tn Heb “but on your people not for a plague.”
  50. 1 Chronicles 21:18 tn Heb “that he should go up to raise up.”
  51. 1 Chronicles 21:19 tn Heb “and David went up by the word of Gad which he spoke in the name of the Lord.”
  52. 1 Chronicles 21:21 tn Heb “nostrils.”
  53. 1 Chronicles 21:22 tn Heb “the place of the threshing floor.”
  54. 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.”
  55. 1 Chronicles 21:22 tn Heb “For full silver sell to me.”
  56. 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.”
  57. 1 Chronicles 21:23 tn Heb “take for yourself.”
  58. 1 Chronicles 21:23 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
  59. 1 Chronicles 21:24 tn Heb “No, for buying I will buy for full silver.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
  60. 1 Chronicles 21:24 tc The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:24 has the plural “burnt sacrifices.”
  61. 1 Chronicles 21:24 tn Or “without [paying] compensation.”
  62. 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.
  63. 1 Chronicles 21:26 tn Or “tokens of peace.”
  64. 1 Chronicles 21:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  65. 1 Chronicles 21:27 tn Heb “spoke to the messenger.”
  66. 1 Chronicles 21:29 tn Or “high place.”
  67. 1 Chronicles 22:2 sn The term גֵּר (ger) refers to a foreign resident, but with different social implications in different settings. In Mosaic Law the resident foreigner was essentially a naturalized citizen and convert to worshiping the God of Israel (see Exod 12:19, 48; Deut 29:10-13).
  68. 1 Chronicles 22:5 tn Heb “a young man and tender.”
  69. 1 Chronicles 22:5 tn Heb “and the house to build to make exceedingly great for a name and for splendor for all the lands.”
  70. 1 Chronicles 22:7 tn Heb “I was with my heart.”
  71. 1 Chronicles 22:7 tn Heb “for the name of.”
  72. 1 Chronicles 22:8 tn Heb “for my name.”
  73. 1 Chronicles 22:9 tn Heb “man of rest.”
  74. 1 Chronicles 22:9 tn Heb “his enemies all around.”
  75. 1 Chronicles 22:9 sn The name Solomon (שְׁלֹמֹה, shelomoh) sounds like (and may be derived from) the Hebrew word for “peace” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).
  76. 1 Chronicles 22:9 tn Heb “in his days.”
  77. 1 Chronicles 22:10 tn Heb “for my name.”
  78. 1 Chronicles 22:10 tn Heb “and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel permanently.”
  79. 1 Chronicles 22:11 tn Heb “as he spoke concerning you.”
  80. 1 Chronicles 22:12 tn Or “keep.”
  81. 1 Chronicles 22:13 tn Heb “which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel.”
  82. 1 Chronicles 22:13 tn Or perhaps, “and don’t get discouraged.”
  83. 1 Chronicles 22:14 tn Heb “and look, in my affliction [or perhaps, “poverty”] I have supplied for the house of the Lord.”
  84. 1 Chronicles 22:14 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6.
  85. 1 Chronicles 22:14 tn Heb “a thousand thousands.”
  86. 1 Chronicles 22:15 tn Heb “craftsmen of stone and wood.”
  87. 1 Chronicles 22:16 tn Heb “and every kind of skilled one in all work, concerning gold, concerning silver, and concerning bronze, and concerning iron, there is no numbering.”
  88. 1 Chronicles 22:17 tn Or “help.”
  89. 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn The words “he told them” are added in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  90. 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is not the Lord your God with you?” The question anticipates the response, “Of course he is!” Thus in the translation the positive statement “The Lord your God is with you!” has been used.
  91. 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn Heb “and he gives rest to you all around.”
  92. 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn Or “earth.”
  93. 1 Chronicles 22:18 tn Or “earth.”
  94. 1 Chronicles 22:19 tn Heb “now give your heart and your being to seek the Lord your God.”
  95. 1 Chronicles 22:19 tn Heb “to bring.”
  96. 1 Chronicles 22:19 tn Heb “items of holiness of God.”
  97. 1 Chronicles 22:19 tn Heb “for the name of the Lord.”