1 Chronicles 21 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

An adversary stood up against Israel and persuaded David to count the people of Israel.

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go count Israel from Beersheba all the way to Dan, then bring me a report so I can know how many there are."

But Joab replied, "May Yahweh multiply his people a hundred times over! My master the king — aren't they all already your servants? Why does my master want to do this? Why bring guilt on Israel?"

But the king's word overruled Joab. So Joab left and traveled throughout all of Israel, then came back to Jerusalem.

Joab reported the total count of the people to David: all Israel had 1,100,000 men who could handle a sword, and Judah had 470,000 men who could handle a sword.

But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count, because the king's command disgusted him.

This whole matter was offensive in God's sight, so he struck Israel.

David said to God, "I have made a terrible failure in what I've done. But now, please take away your servant's guilt, because I have acted very foolishly."

Yahweh spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying:

"Go tell David, 'This is what Yahweh says: I'm giving you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.'"

So Gad went to David and told him, "This is what Yahweh says: 'Take your pick—

either three years of famine, or three months of being swept away by your enemies while they cut you down with their swords, or three days of Yahweh's own sword — a devastating plague across the land, with Yahweh's messenger bringing destruction throughout all of Israel's territory.' Now decide what answer I should bring back to the one who sent me."

David said to Gad, "I'm in terrible anguish. Let me fall into Yahweh's hands, because his compassion is very great — but don't let me fall into human hands."

So Yahweh sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand people from Israel died.

Then God sent a messenger to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as the messenger was destroying, Yahweh saw it, relented from the disaster, and said to the messenger who was destroying, "Enough! Pull back your hand now." The messenger of Yahweh was standing at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David looked up and saw the messenger of Yahweh standing between earth and sky, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered in rough cloth, fell facedown.

David said to God, "Wasn't it I who ordered the people to be counted? I am the one who has failed. I am the one who has done this terrible wrong. But these people — they're just the flock! What have they done? Yahweh, my God, please — let your hand fall on me and my father's family, but don't let this plague stay on your people."

Then the messenger of Yahweh told Gad to tell David that he should go up and build an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

So David went up, following the word that Gad had spoken in Yahweh's name.

Ornan turned around and saw the messenger, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.

When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David. He came out from the threshing floor and bowed down to David with his face to the ground.

David said to Ornan, "Give me the site of this threshing floor so I can build an altar to Yahweh on it. Sell it to me for the full price, so this plague on the people can be stopped."

Ornan said to David, "Take it! Let my master the king do whatever seems good to him. Look — I'll give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for firewood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I'll give it all."

But King David said to Ornan, "No — I insist on buying it for the full price. I won't take what is yours for Yahweh, and I won't offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing."

So David paid Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the site.

David built an altar there to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called on Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him with fire from the sky on the altar of burnt offering.

Then Yahweh gave a command to the messenger, and he put his sword back in its sheath.

At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.

Now the Dwelling Place of Yahweh that Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon.

But David could not go before it to seek God, because he was terrified of the sword of Yahweh's messenger.