David Numbers Israel and Judah

211 And there standeth up an adversary against Israel, and persuadeth David to number Israel, 2 And David saith unto Joab, and unto the heads of the people, 'Go, number Israel from Beer-Sheba even unto Dan, and bring unto me, and I know their number.' 3 And Joab saith, 'Jehovah doth add to His people as they are a hundred times; are they not, my lord, O king, all of them to my lord for servants? why doth my lord seek this? why is he for a cause of guilt to Israel?' 4 And the word of the king 'is' severe against Joab, and Joab goeth out, and goeth up and down in all Israel, and cometh in to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab giveth the account of the numbering of the people unto David, and all Israel is a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand, each drawing sword, and Judah 'is' four hundred and seventy thousand, each drawing sword. 6 And Levi and Benjamin he hath not numbered in their midst, for the word of the king was abominable with Joab.

7 And it is evil in the eyes of God concerning this thing, and He smiteth Israel, 8 and David saith unto God, 'I have sinned exceedingly, in that I have done this thing; and now, cause to pass away, I pray Thee, the iniquity of Thy servant, for I have acted very foolishly.' 9 And Jehovah speaketh unto Gad, seer of David, saying: 10 'Go, and thou hast spoken unto David, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Three—I am stretching out unto thee; choose for thee one of these, and I do 'it' to thee.' 11 And Gad cometh in unto David, and saith to him, 'Thus said Jehovah, Take for thee— 12 either for three years—famine, or three months to be consumed from the face of thine adversaries, even the sword of thine enemies to overtake, or three days the sword of Jehovah, even pestilence in the land, and a messenger of Jehovah destroying in all the border of Israel; and now, see; what word do I return to Him who is sending me?' 13 And David saith unto Gad, 'I am greatly distressed, let me fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for very many 'are' His mercies, and into the hand of man let me not fall.' 14 And Jehovah giveth a pestilence in Israel, and there fall of Israel seventy thousand men, 15 and God sendeth a messenger to Jerusalem to destroy it, and as he is destroying Jehovah hath seen, and is comforted concerning the evil, and saith to the messenger who 'is' destroying, 'Enough, now, cease thy hand.' And the messenger of Jehovah is standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, 16 and David lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the messenger of Jehovah standing between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem, and David falleth, and the elders, covered with sackcloth, on their faces. 17 And David saith unto God, 'Did not I—I say to number the people? Yea, I it 'is' who have sinned, and done great evil: and these, the flock, what did they? O Jehovah, my God, let, I pray Thee, Thy hand be on me, and on the house of my father, and not on Thy people—to be plagued.'

18 And the messenger of Jehovah spake unto Gad, saying for David, 'Surely David doth go up to raise an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.' 19 And David goeth up by the word of Gad, that he spake in the name of Jehovah. 20 And Ornan turneth back, and seeth the messenger, and his four sons 'are' with him, hiding themselves, and Ornan is threshing wheat. 21 And David cometh in unto Ornan, and Ornan looketh attentively, and seeth David, and goeth out from the threshing-floor, and boweth himself to David—face to the earth. 22 And David saith unto Ornan, 'Give to me the place of the threshing-floor, and I build in it an altar to Jehovah; for full silver give it to me, and the plague is restrained from the people.' 23 And Ornan saith unto David, 'Take to thee—and my lord the king doth that which is good in his eyes: see, I have given the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for a present; the whole I have given.' 24 And king David saith to Ornan, 'Nay, for I surely buy for full silver; for I do not lift up that which is thine to Jehovah, so as to offer a burnt-offering without cost.' 25 And David giveth to Ornan for the place shekels of gold 'in' weight six hundred; 26 and David buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and offereth burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and calleth unto Jehovah, and He answereth him with fire from the heavens on the altar of the burnt-offering. 27 And Jehovah saith to the messenger, and he turneth back his sword unto its sheath.

The Site for the Temple

28 At that time when David seeth that Jehovah hath answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificeth there; 29 and the tabernacle of Jehovah that Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt-offering, 'are' at that time in a high place, in Gibeon; 30 and David is not able to go before it to seek God, for he hath been afraid because of the sword of the messenger of Jehovah.

221 And David saith, 'This is the house of Jehovah God, and this the altar for burnt-offering for Israel.'

David's Preparation for the Temple

2 And David saith to gather the sojourners who 'are' in the land of Israel, and appointeth hewers to hew hewn-stones to build a house of God. 3 And iron in abundance for nails for leaves of the gates, and for couplings, hath David prepared, and brass in abundance—there is no weighing. 4 And cedar-trees even without number, for the Zidonians and the Tyrians brought in cedar-trees in abundance to David. 5 And David saith, 'Solomon my son 'is' a youth and tender, and the house to be built to Jehovah 'is' to be made exceedingly great, for name and for beauty to all the lands; let me prepare, I pray Thee, for it;' and David prepareth in abundance before his death.

6 And he calleth for Solomon his son, and chargeth him to build a house to Jehovah, God of Israel, 7 and David saith to Solomon his son, 'As for me, it hath been with my heart to build a house to the name of Jehovah my God, 8 and the word of Jehovah 'is' against me, saying, Blood in abundance thou hast shed, and great wars thou hast made: thou dost not build a house to My name, for much blood thou hast shed to the earth before Me. 9 'Lo, a son is born to thee; he is a man of rest, and I have given rest to him from all his enemies round about, for Solomon is his name, and peace and quietness I give unto Israel in his days; 10 he doth build a house to My name, and he is to Me for a son, and I 'am' to him for a father, and I have established the throne of his kingdom over Israel unto the age. 11 'Now, my son, Jehovah is with thee, and thou hast prospered, and hast built the house of Jehovah thy God, as He spake concerning thee. 12 Only, Jehovah give to thee wisdom and understanding, and charge thee concerning Israel, even to keep the law of Jehovah thy God; 13 then thou dost prosper, if thou dost observe to do the statutes and the judgments that Jehovah charged Moses with concerning Israel; be strong and courageous; do not fear, nor be cast down. 14 'And lo, in mine affliction, I have prepared for the house of Jehovah of gold talents a hundred thousand, and of silver a thousand thousand talents; and of brass and of iron there is no weighing, for in abundance it hath been, and wood and stones I have prepared, and to them thou dost add. 15 'And with thee in abundance 'are' workmen, hewers and artificers of stone and of wood, and every skilful man for every work. 16 To the gold, to the silver, and to the brass, and to the iron, there is no number; arise and do, and Jehovah is with thee.'

17 And David giveth charge to all heads of Israel to give help to Solomon his son, 18 'Is not Jehovah your God with you? yea, He hath given rest to you round about, for He hath given into my hand the inhabitants of the land, and subdued hath been the land before His people. 19 'Now, give your heart and your soul to seek to Jehovah your God, and rise and build the sanctuary of Jehovah God, to bring in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and the holy vessels of God, to the house that is built to the name of Jehovah.'

231 And David is old, and satisfied with days, and causeth his son Solomon to reign over Israel,

The Divisions and Duties of the Levites

2 and gathereth all the heads of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites; 3 and the Levites are numbered from a son of thirty years and upward, and their number, by their polls, is of mighty men thirty and eight thousand. 4 Of these to preside over the work of the house of Jehovah 'are' twenty and four thousand, and officers and judges six thousand, 5 and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand giving praise to Jehovah, 'with instruments that I made for praising,' 'saith David.' 6 And David distributeth them into courses: Of the sons of Levi: of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 Of the Gershonite: Laadan and Shimei. 8 Sons of Laadan: the head 'is' Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 9 Sons of Shimei 'are' Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three; these 'are' heads of the fathers of Laadan. 10 And sons of Shimei 'are' Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah; these 'are' sons of Shimei, four. 11 And Jahath is the head, and Zizah the second, and Jeush and Beriah have not multiplied sons, and they become the house of a father by one numbering. 12 Sons of Kohath 'are' Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13 Sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron is separated for his sanctifying the holy of holies, he and his sons—unto the age, to make perfume before Jehovah, to serve Him, and to bless in His name—unto the age. 14 As to Moses, the man of God, his sons are called after the tribe of Levi. 15 Sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 Sons of Gershom: Shebuel the head. 17 And sons of Eliezer are Rehabiah the head, and Eliezer had no other sons, and the sons of Rehabiah have multiplied exceedingly. 18 Sons of Izhar: Shelomith the head. 19 Sons of Hebron: Jeriah the head, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Sons of Uzziel: Micah the head, and Ishshiah, the second. 21 Sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. 22 And Eleazar dieth, and he had no sons, but daughters, and sons of Kish their brethren take them. 23 Sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three.

24 These 'are' sons of Levi, by the house of their fathers, heads of the fathers, by their appointments, in the number of names, by their polls, doing the work for the service of the house of Jehovah, from a son of twenty years and upward, 25 for David said, 'Jehovah, God of Israel, hath given rest to His people, and He doth tabernacle in Jerusalem unto the age;' 26 and also of the Levites, 'None 'are' to bear the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service;' 27 for by the last words of David they 'took' the number of the sons of Levi from a son of twenty years and upward, 28 for their station 'is' at the side of the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of Jehovah, over the courts, and over the chambers, and over the cleansing of every holy thing, and the work of the service of the house of God, 29 and for the bread of the arrangement, and for fine flour for present, and for the thin unleavened cakes, and for 'the work of' the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all 'liquid' measure and 'solid' measure; 30 and to stand, morning by morning, to give thanks, and to give praise to Jehovah, and so at evening; 31 and for all the burnt-offerings—burnt-offerings to Jehovah for sabbaths, for new moons, and for appointed seasons, by number, according to the ordinance upon them continually, before Jehovah. 32 And they have kept the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brethren, for the service of the house of Jehovah.