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1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

2 And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

3 And Joab answered, The Lord make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?

4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.

5 And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.

6 But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab.

7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.

8 And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

9 And the Lord spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,

10 Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.

11 So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee

12 Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.

13 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.

14 So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.

15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.

17 And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.

18 Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

19 And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the Lord.

20 And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.

21 And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.

22 Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the Lord: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.

23 And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all.

24 And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.

25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.

26 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.

27 And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.

28 At that time when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.

29 For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.

30 But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

<html><b>Now Satan arose upon Israel</b> Although this chapter is not complimentary to David, it was written here because it says at the end of the chapter that he built an altar and the Lord answered him from heaven. This is complimentary to David.</html>

<html><b>the number of the census</b> lit., the number of the number. A similar expression is (Num. 14:29): “… and all your numbered ones at all your numberings.” <b>and all Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand, etc. and Judah was four hundred seventy thousand</b> But in Samuel (II 24:9) it is written: “eight hundred thousand, etc., and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men,” which apparently means that there were not so many of Israel as are stated here. The truth is that because the anger of the Holy One, blessed be He, was upon David, Scripture did not write there the number of all of those whom he had counted. Neither did Joab count all the tribes, as it is written (verse 6): “… because the word of the king was repugnant to Joab.” But here, because of David’s honor, he does mention the number and the reckoning that he counted, because it is his honor that such a massive army was in his tribe. And the following is proof to what I explained: that even that small part of Israel that he counted, he did not write their entire number in Samuel, but here, [the Chronicler] did write the entire number that he counted, because it is written here: “and all Israel were,” whereas in Samuel it is not written: “all.” And it is explicitly proven here before us, as it is written: (below 27:24): “Joab the son of Zeruiah began to count but did not finish, and with this there was anger upon Israel, and the number did not reach the number of the chronicles of King David.”</html>

<html><b>But Levi and Benjamin he did not count among them, etc.</b> Joab knew that it would be considered a sin for the people, leading to a plague; Joab therefore said, “I can save these tribes from the census. Concerning Levi, if David says: ‘Why did you not count Levi?’ I shall answer him that they were not counted among the Children of Israel (Num. 2:33). And this is what I shall say about Benjamin: ‘Weren’t they stricken in the episode of the concubine in Gibeah? If they are afflicted now, what will be left of them?’”</html>

<html><b>and now, please put aside the iniquity of Your servant</b> - Heb. עֲווֹן. This עֲווֹן is written with the plene spelling, with two “vavim,” i.e., please put aside the full iniquity that I committed. This word is written with the plene spelling in four places in Scripture, and this is one of them. The second is in Psalms (51:7): “Behold with iniquity (בְּעָווֹן) I was formed,” as it is explained in <i>Leviticus Rabbah</i> (14:5), in the section entitled: (Lev. 12:2): “If a woman conceives seed: Even if one be the most pious of the pious, it is impossible that he should have no streak of unintentional iniquity, because he intended only for his own pleasure.” The third is (Prov. 5:22): “His iniquities (עֲווֹנוֹתָיו) shall trap the wicked man,” meaning his many iniquities. The fourth is in II Kings (7:9): “… we will incur guilt (עָווֹן). Now let us go and come and relate this in the king’s palace.” They said, “If we do not go and tell this in the king’s palace, it will be a grave iniquity, because enemies will come upon them.”</html>

<html><b>I am greatly oppressed</b> You tell me, “Choose the mildest of them. It is hard for me, and I am greatly oppressed about it.” This can be compared to a [sick] person, to whom people said, “Behold you are going to die. Now in which grave do you wish to be buried? Beside your father or beside your mother?” Woe to the ears that hear such a thing! <b>let me fall now into the hand of the Lord</b> with the pestilence, in which all are equal, both rich and poor. <b>for His mercies are great</b> Perhaps He will have compassion, but our enemies will not have compassion on us.</html>

<html><b>extended over Jerusalem</b> In Joshua (5:13), it says: “… and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, etc. ’Are you for us or for our adversaries?” Joshua was standing with his back opposite his adversaries, and the angel came opposite him; therefore, he wondered and asked him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” [Have you come] to help us since you are standing opposite me, or to help our enemies, because you are standing also opposite them? But here, since he saw the sword of the angel, which was extended over Jerusalem, he knew by himself that he had come to strike the enemies of Israel.</html>

<html><b>but these sheep, what have they done</b> for they are like sheep brought to the slaughter, who cannot be saved from slaughter because they are destined for it.</html>

<html><b>hid</b> from the angel, to fulfill the verse (Isa. 26:20): “Go, My people, come into your chambers and close your door about you; hide for but a moment, until the wrath passes.” And Scripture also says (Exod. 12:22): “… as for you, none of you shall go out of his house until morning.” <b>and Ornan was threshing wheat</b> since Scripture states further (verse 23): “and the wheat for a meal offering,” lest you wonder how wheat was there.</html>

<html><b>and the threshing tools for [fire] wood</b> [These are] boards with which they thresh the grain, as we learned in <i>Avodah Zarah</i> (24b): “A goat with hooks,” [which is the] name of a threshing-sledge, similar to (Isa. 41:15): “a new grooved threshing sledge (מוֹרַג חָרוּץ).”</html>

<html><b>shekels of gold, weighing six hundred</b> but at the end of Samuel (II 24:24), it is written: “for fifty shekels of silver.” How is this possible? He took fifty shekels from each tribe, totaling six hundred shekels, so that all Israel should have a share in the altar.</html>

<html><b>And the Lord commanded the angel</b> to return his sword, and the sword was returned to its sheath. Similar to this is (Jonah 2:11): “And the Lord said to the fish, and it spewed Jonah, etc.”</html>

<html><b>At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him</b> This section was not written in II Samuel, but because of David’s honor, it was written here that he made an altar, and all the verses of this section are connected to one another, as if they were all one verse.</html>

<html><b>and the altar of the burnt offerings</b> of Moses was still at that time in the high place, which was in Gibeon.</html>

<html><b>But David could not</b> Then, when that incident occurred that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded him to offer up a sacrifice, David could not go before it to inquire of God, i.e., before the altar that was in Gibeon. <b>because he was frightened by the sword of the angel of the Lord</b> and David went according to the words of the Lord and built an altar, and the Lord answered him.</html>