David Takes a Census
(1 Chronicles 21.1-27)1 On another occasion the Lord was angry with Israel, and he made David bring trouble on them. The Lord said to him, “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah.” 2 So David gave orders to Joab, the commander of his army: “Go with your officers through all the tribes of Israel from one end of the country to the other, and count the people. I want to know how many there are.”
3 But Joab answered the king, “Your Majesty, may the Lord your God make the people of Israel a hundred times more numerous than they are now, and may you live to see him do it. But why does Your Majesty want to do this?” 4 But the king made Joab and his officers obey his order; they left his presence and went out to count the people of Israel.
5 They crossed the Jordan and camped south of Aroer, the city in the middle of the valley, in the territory of Gad. From there they went north to Jazer, 6 and on to Gilead and to Kadesh, in Hittite territory. Then they went to Dan, and from Dan they went west to Sidon. 7 Then they went south to the fortified city of Tyre, on to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites, and finally to Beersheba, in the southern part of Judah. 8 So after nine months and twenty days they returned to Jerusalem, having traveled through the whole country. 9 They reported to the king the total number of men capable of military service: 800,000 in Israel and 500,000 in Judah.
10 But after David had taken the census, his conscience began to hurt, and he said to the Lord, “I have committed a terrible sin in doing this! Please forgive me. I have acted foolishly.”
11-12 The Lord said to Gad, David's prophet, “Go and tell David that I am giving him three choices. I will do whichever he chooses.” The next morning, after David had gotten up, 13 Gad went to him, told him what the Lord had said, and asked, “Which is it to be? Three years of famine in your land or three months of running away from your enemies or three days of an epidemic in your land? Now think it over, and tell me what answer to take back to the Lord.”
14 David answered, “I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by people. Let the Lord himself be the one to punish us, for he is merciful.” 15 So the Lord sent an epidemic on Israel, which lasted from that morning until the time that he had chosen. From one end of the country to the other seventy thousand Israelites died. 16 When the Lord's angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord changed his mind about punishing the people and said to the angel who was killing them, “Stop! That's enough!” The angel was by the threshing place of Araunah, a Jebusite.
17 David saw the angel who was killing the people, and said to the Lord, “I am the guilty one. I am the one who did wrong. What have these poor people done? You should punish me and my family.”
18 That same day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up to Araunah's threshing place and build an altar to the Lord.” 19 David obeyed the Lord's command and went as Gad had told him to. 20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his officials coming up to him. He threw himself on the ground in front of David 21 and asked, “Your Majesty, why are you here?”
David answered, “To buy your threshing place and build an altar for the Lord, in order to stop the epidemic.”
22 “Take it, Your Majesty,” Araunah said, “and offer to the Lord whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an offering on the altar; here are their yokes and the threshing boards to use as fuel.” 23 Araunah gave it all to the king and said to him, “May the Lord your God accept your offering.”
24 But the king answered, “No, I will pay you for it. I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.” And he bought the threshing place and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver. 25 Then he built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The Lord answered his prayer, and the epidemic in Israel was stopped.
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.
