David Builds an Altar

18 So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “(A)Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of [a]Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 Then David went up in accordance with the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. 20 And Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; so Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. 21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, (B)so that the plague may be [b]withdrawn from the people.” 22 Araunah then said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, here are (C)the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God be (D)favorable to you.” 24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price; for (E)I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God [c]that cost me nothing.” So (F)David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 Then David built there an altar to the Lord, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And (G)the Lord responded to prayer for the land, and the plague was [d]withdrawn from Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 24:18 In 2 Chr 3:1, Ornan
  2. 2 Samuel 24:21 Or brought to a halt
  3. 2 Samuel 24:24 Lit gratuitously
  4. 2 Samuel 24:25 Or brought to a halt

18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.

19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.

20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.

21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.

23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.

24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

25 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

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18 That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went to do what the Lord had commanded him. 20 When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came forward and fell flat on the ground with his face in the dust.

21 “Why have you come?” Araunah asked.

And David replied, “To buy your threshing floor, so that I can build an altar to the Lord, and he will stop the plague.”

22 “Use anything you like,” Araunah told the king. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing instruments and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. 23 I will give it all to you, and may the Lord God accept your sacrifice.”

24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, I will not have it as a gift. I will buy it, for I don’t want to offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that have cost me nothing.”

So David paid him[a] for the threshing floor and the oxen. 25 And David built an altar there to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer, and the plague was stopped.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 24:24 paid him, literally, “paid him fifty shekels of silver.”