1 Chronicles 21 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Satan was against the people of Israel. He encouraged David to count the people of Israel.

² So David said to Joab and the leaders of the people, “Go and count all the people of Israel. Count everyone in the country—from the town of Beersheba all the way to the town of Dan. Then tell me, so I will know how many people there are.”

³ But Joab answered, “May the Lord make his nation 100 times as large! Sir, all the people of Israel are your servants. Why do you want to do this thing, my lord and king? You will make all the people of Israel guilty of sin!”

⁴ But King David was stubborn. Joab had to do what the king said. So Joab left and went through all the country of Israel counting the people. Then Joab came back to Jerusalem

⁵ and told David how many people there were. In Israel there were 1,100,000 men who could use a sword. And there were 470,000 men in Judah who could use a sword.

⁶ Joab did not count the family groups of Levi and Benjamin. Joab did not count those family groups because he did not like King David’s order.

⁷ David had done a bad thing in God’s sight. So God punished Israel.

^8-12 Then David said to God, “I have done something very foolish. I have done a very bad sin by counting the people of Israel. Now, I beg you to take the sin away from me, your servant.”

¹³ David said to Gad, “I am in trouble! I don’t want some man to decide my punishment. The Lord is very merciful, so let the Lord decide how to punish me.”

¹⁴ So the Lord sent terrible sicknesses to Israel, and 70,000 people died.

¹⁵ God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But when the angel started to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord saw it and felt sorry. So the Lord decided not to destroy Jerusalem. The Lord said to the angel who was destroying, “Stop! That is enough!” The angel of the Lord was standing at the threshing floor {\cf2\super [214]} of Araunah the Jebusite. {\cf2\super [215]}

¹⁶ David looked up and saw the Lord’s angel in the sky. The angel was holding his sword over the city of Jerusalem. Then David and the elders (leaders) bowed with their faces touching the ground. David and the elders (leaders) were wearing the special clothes to show their sadness.

¹⁷ David said to God, “I am the one that sinned! I gave the order for the people to be counted! I was wrong! The people of Israel did not do anything wrong! Lord my God, punish me and my family! But stop the terrible sicknesses that are killing your people!”

¹⁸ Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Gad. He said, “Tell David to build an altar {\cf2\super [216]} to worship the Lord. David must build that altar near the threshing floor {\cf2\super [217]} of Araunah the Jebusite. {\cf2\super [218]} ”

¹⁹ Gad told those things to David, and David went to Araunah’s threshing floor.

²⁰ Araunah was threshing {\cf2\super [219]} the wheat. Araunah turned around and saw the angel. Araunah’s four sons ran away to hide.

²¹ David walked up \{the hill\} to Araunah. Araunah saw him and left the threshing floor. He walked to David and bowed with his face to the ground in front of him.

²² David said to Araunah, “Sell me your threshing floor. {\cf2\super [220]} I will pay you the full price. Then I can use the area to build an altar {\cf2\super [221]} to worship the Lord. Then the terrible sicknesses will be stopped.”

²³ Araunah said to David, “Take this threshing floor {\cf2\super [222]} ! You are my lord and king. Do anything you want. Look, I will also give you cattle for the burnt offering. {\cf2\super [223]} I will give the wooden floor boards so you can burn them for the fire on the altar. {\cf2\super [224]} And I will give the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this to you!”

²⁴ But King David answered Araunah, “No, I will pay you the full price. I won’t take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord. I won’t give offerings that cost me nothing.”

²⁵ So David gave Araunah about 15 pounds {\cf2\super [225]} of gold for the place.

²⁶ David built an altar {\cf2\super [226]} for worshiping the Lord there. David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. David prayed to the Lord. The Lord answered David by sending fire down from heaven. The fire came down on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷ Then the Lord commanded the angel to put his sword back into its sheath. {\cf2\super [227]}