David Counts the People
(1 Chronicles 21.1-6)1 The Lord was angry with Israel again, and he made David think it would be a good idea to count the people in Israel and Judah. 2 So David told Joab and the army officers, “Go to every tribe in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north all the way south to Beersheba, and count everyone who can serve in the army. I want to know how many there are.”
3 Joab answered, “I hope the Lord your God will give you 100 times more soldiers than you already have. I hope you will live to see that day! But why do you want to do a thing like this?”
4 But when David refused to change his mind, Joab and the army officers went out and started counting the people. 5 They crossed the Jordan River and began with Aroer and the town in the middle of the river valley. From there they went toward Gad and on as far as Jazer. 6 They went to Gilead and to Kadesh in Syria. Then they went to Dan, Ijon, and on toward Sidon. 7 They came to the fortress of Tyre, then went through every town of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Finally, they went to Beersheba in the Southern Desert of Judah. 8 After they had gone through the whole land, they went back to Jerusalem. It had taken them 9 months and 20 days.
9 Joab came and told David, “In Israel there are 800,000 who can serve in the army, and in Judah there are 500,000.”
The Lord Punishes David
(1 Chronicles 21.7-17)10 After everyone had been counted, David realized he had done wrong. He told the Lord, “What I did was stupid and terribly wrong. Lord, please forgive me.”
11 Before David even got up the next morning, the Lord had told David's prophet Gad 12-13 to take a message to David. Gad went to David and told him:
You must choose one of three ways for the Lord to punish you: Will there be seven years when the land won't grow enough food for your people? Or will your enemies chase you and make you run from them for three months? Or will there be three days of horrible disease in your land? Think about it and decide, because I have to give your answer to God, who sent me.
14 David was really frightened and said, “It's a terrible choice to make! But the Lord is kind, and I'd rather be punished by him than by anyone else.”
15-16 So that morning, the Lord sent an angel to spread a horrible disease everywhere in Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. And before it was over, 70,000 people had died.
When the angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord felt sorry for all the suffering he had caused and told the angel, “That's enough! Don't touch them.” This happened at the threshing place that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.
17 David saw the angel killing everyone and told the Lord, “These people are like sheep with me as their shepherd. I have sinned terribly, but they have done nothing wrong. Please, punish me and my family instead of them!”
David Buys Araunah's Threshing Place
(1 Chronicles 21.18—22.1)18-19 That same day the prophet Gad came and told David, “Go to the threshing place that belongs to Araunah and build an altar there for the Lord.”
So David went.
20 Araunah looked and saw David and his soldiers coming up toward him. He went over to David, bowed down low, 21 and said, “Your Majesty! Why have you come to see me?”
David answered, “I've come to buy your threshing place. I have to build the Lord an altar here, so this disease will stop killing the people.”
22 Araunah said, “Take whatever you want and offer your sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the sacrifice. You can use the threshing-boards and the wooden yokes for the fire. 23 Take them—they're yours! I hope the Lord your God will be pleased with you.”
24 But David answered, “No! I have to pay you what they're worth. I can't offer the Lord my God a sacrifice that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing place and the oxen for 50 pieces of silver. 25 Then he built an altar for the Lord. He offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask for his blessings.
The Lord answered the prayers of the people, and no one else died from the terrible disease.
Davidi ge ǁaes nî ǃgôakhâihesa ra mîmā
(1 Kroniks 21:1-27)1 ǁKhawab ge ǃKhūba Israeli ǀkha ǁaixa tsî Davida ǁîn ǃoagu khâikhâiǃnâ tsî ge mî: “ǃGû, îts Israeli tsî Judab tsîkha khoena sī ǃgôakhâi.” 2 Ob ge gao-aoba, toroǂnubis âb di ǃkhōdana-aob, Joaba ge mîmā: “Sa ǂamkhoegu ǀkha Israeli ǃhaodi hoadi ǃnâ ǃgû, ǀgui ǀams ǃhūb disa xu nau ǀams kōse, î ǁaesa ǃgôakhâi, mātikōn a ǃkhaisa ta ra ǂan ǂgao xuige.”
3 Ob ge Joaba gao-aoba ge ǃeream: “Ab ǃKhūb sa Eloba Israelǁaesa nēsin kōs xa kaidisi ǃnāde ǂguiǂgui, îts ǃgôahesa gao-aotsa nēsa mû, xawe tare xū-i ǃaromats kha gao-aotse, nē ǃkhaisa ra dī ǂgao?” 4 Xaweb ge gao-aoba mîb ge mîs ai ge mâ, ǁnā-amaga gu ge Joab tsî ǂamkhoegu âb tsîga Israelǁaesa gu sī nî ǃgôase gao-aoba xu ge ǃgû.
5 ǁÎgu ge Jordanna ǃgâu tsî Aroers di ǃkhawagas ǃnâ ǃgoaǃnāb ǁaegu ǂnôa ǃās ǃnâ hâǃkhaib âga sī ge ǂnaumâi. ǁNāpa xu gu ge Gads tsî Jasers tsîra kōse ge ǃgû, 6 tsî Gileads kōse tsî Kades Hetǁîn ǀkharib ǃnâ ǂnôas kōse. ǃAruǀî gu ge Dans kōse ge sī tsî ǁnāpa xu Sidons ǃoa ge dabasen. 7 Tsî gu ge omǂnamisa ǃās Tirus tsî hoa ǃādi Hivǁîn tsî Kanaanǁîn didi tawa ge sī; ǁnāpa xu gu ge Judab di ǃkhawagas ǃnâ Bersebas tawa ge sī. 8 ǁÎgu ge hoaraga ǃhūba ǃgûǃnâǃganu tsî khoese ǁkhâgu tsî ǀgamdisi tsēdi khaoǃgâ Jerusalems ǃnâ ge oasī. 9 Tsîb ge Joaba ǃgôakhâihe ge khoen di ǃgôaba gao-aoba ge mā. Israeli ǃnâ gu ge ǁkhaisakaidisiǀoadisi toroǃkham-ao kai ǁkhā khoega ge hâ i tsî Judab ǃnâ korokaidisiǀoadisiga.
10 ǁAesab ge ǃgôakhâis khaoǃgâb ge Davida ǂgaoǂans âb xa ǂhanihe tsî ǃKhūb ǃoa ge mî: “Nē ta go dī ǃkhais ǀkha ta ge kaise go ǁore. Toxopa ǀûba te re, tsūse ta go dī xuige.”
11 Davidi ge ǁgoaga khâimâ, ob ge kēbo-aob Gadi, Davidi di mû-aoba ǁîb ǃoa ge hā. ǃKhūb ge Gada ǃoa ge mî: 12 “ǃGû, î Davida sī mîba ǃnona xūna ta ra ǁgui-aiǃâ bi ǃkhaisa. ǁÎna xub ga ǁhûi xū-i hoa-e ta ge nî dī.” 13 Ob ge Gada nē ǂhôasa Davida sī-ūba tsî ge mî: “Mâ-ets ra ǁhûi? ǃNona kurigu ǃâtsūǀkhāb diga sa ǃhūb ǃnâ nî hā? ǃNona ǁkhâgats sa khākhoen aiǃâ nî ǁhâma, ǁîn xats ra ǃgôaǃgonhese? ǃNona tsēdi kōseb ǂhīǁōba sa ǃhūb ǃnâ nî hâ? ǃGâise ǂâiǃgâ, îts mîba te, mâti ta ǃKhūba sī nî mîba ǃkhaisa.”
14 Ob ge Davida Gada ge ǃeream: “Kai ǂōǂōsib ǃnâ ta ge hâ. A ta ǁnâi ǃKhūb ǃomǁae ǁnā, ǁîb di ǀkhommi a kai xuige, xawe a ta tā khoen di ǃomǁae ǁnā re.” 15 Ob ge ǃKhūba ǂhīǁō-i, ǁgoagasa xu mîmâisa ǁaeb kōse nî hâ-e Israeli ǃnâ ge sîǂgā. ǀGui ǀams ǃhūb disa xu nau ǀams kōsen ge hûdisiǀoadisi khoena ge ǁō. 16 Tsî ǀhomǃgāb Jerusalemsab nî hîkākāse ra ǂhomisen hîab ge ǃKhūba nē ǁkharab ǀkha aiǃgûsa ge ǀû; tsîb ge ǀhomǃgāb ǁîna ra hîkākāb ǃoa “ǂÂu go, xuige nēsi ǀû!” ti ge mî. ǀHomǃgāb ǃKhūb dib ge Jebusǁîb, Araunab di dāǃnâǃkhais tawa ge hâ i.
17 Davidi ge khoena ra ǃgam ǀhomǃgābab ge mû, o ǃKhūb ǃoa ge mî: “Tita ge ǀhapixa a ta. Tita ge ǃûǂam ge ta. Nē ǀkhomǀkhomsa khoena tare-en ge dī? Tita tsî ti surib tsîna ǁnâi ǁkhara re.”
18 Gadi ge ǁnā tsēs ǁkhās ai Davidi tawa hā tsî ǁîb ǃoa ge mî: “ǃGûǂoa, î ǃKhūba Araunab Jebusǁîb di dāǃnâǃkhais tawa sī altarsa ǂnubiba.” 19 Ob ge Davida ǃKhūb di mîsa ǁnâuǀnam tsî Gadi ge mîba bi khami ge ǃgûǂoa. 20 Tsî Araunab ge kōǁgôa tsî gao-aob tsî ǂamkhoegu âb ǁîb ǃoa ra hā ǃkhaisa a mû, ob ge ǂoa tsî gao-aob aiǃâ ǃhūb kōse ǃhonǁgoa 21 tsî “Tare-e xū-i ǃaromats ǃgôahesa gao-aotsa sa ǃgāta ǃoa go hā?” ti ge dî.
Ob ge gao-aoba ge ǃeream: “Sa dāǃnâǃkhaisa ǁama tsî ta ǁîs ai ǃKhūba altarsa nî ǂnubibaga, îb nē ǂhīǁōba ǁaesa xu ūbēhe.”
22 Ob ge Araunaba Davida ǃoa ge mî: “ǃGôahesa gao-aotse, ǁîsa ū, îts ǂgaots ra xū-i hoa-e ǃKhūba ǁguiba. Nēgu ge gomaga khauǁguibas ǃaroma tsî nēdi ge dāǃnâ-ūkunidi tsî jōkhoedi tsîna ǀaes ǃaroma.” 23 Araunab ge nēn hoana gao-aoba mā tsî ge mî: “Ab ǃKhūb sa Eloba sa ǁguibasa ūǃoa re.”
24 Xaweb ge gao-aoba Araunaba ge mîba: “Hî-î, tita ge ǁîs ǃaroma nî matare tsi. Tita ge ǃKhūb ti Eloba xū-e ta matare tama ǁguiba-e ǁguiba tide.” Tsîb ge Davida dāǃnâǃkhais tsî gomagu tsîna korodisi ǀhaiǀuri maridi ama ge ǁama. 25 Tsîb ge ǁnāpa ǃKhūba altarsa ǂnubiba tsî khauǁguibadi tsî ǂûǁguibadi tsîna ge ǁguiba. Ob ge ǃKhūba ǀgores âba ge ǁnâu-am, tsîb ge ǂhīǁōba Israeli ǃnâ ge toa.
