1 Chronicles 18; 1 Chronicles 19; 1 Chronicles 20; 1 Chronicles 21

1 Later, David defeated the Philistines, conquered them, and took the city of Gath and the small towns around it.

2 He also defeated the people of Moab. So the people of Moab became servants of David and gave him the payment he demanded.

3 David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah all the way to the town of Hamath as he tried to spread his kingdom to the Euphrates River.

4 David captured one thousand of his chariots, seven thousand men who rode in chariots, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He crippled all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

5 Arameans from Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David killed twenty-two thousand of them.

6 Then David put groups of soldiers in Damascus in Aram. The Arameans became David's servants and gave him the payments he demanded. So the Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.

7 David took the shields of gold that had belonged to Hadadezer's officers and brought them to Jerusalem.

8 David also took many things made of bronze from Tebah and Cun, which had been cities under Hadadezer's control. Later, Solomon used this bronze to make things for the Temple: the large bronze bowl, which was called the Sea, the pillars, and other bronze utensils.

9 Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah.

10 So Toi sent his son Hadoram to greet and congratulate King David for defeating Hadadezer. (Hadadezer had been at war with Toi.) Hadoram brought items made of gold, silver, and bronze.

11 King David gave them to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had taken from these nations: Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.

12 Abishai son of Zeruiah killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

13 David put groups of soldiers in Edom, and all the Edomites became his servants. The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.

14 David was king over all of Israel, and he did what was fair and right for all his people.

15 Joab son of Zeruiah was commander over the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder.

16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Abiathar son of Ahimelech were priests. Shavsha was the royal secretary.

17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites. And David's sons were important officers who served at his side.

1 When Nahash king of the Ammonites died, his son became king after him.

2 David said, "Nahash was loyal to me, so I will be loyal to his son Hanun." So David sent messengers to comfort Hanun about his father's death. David's officers went to the land of the Ammonites to comfort Hanun.

3 But the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, "Do you think David wants to honor your father by sending men to comfort you? No! David sent them to study the land and capture it and spy it out."

4 So Hanun arrested David's officers. To shame them he shaved their beards and cut off their clothes at the hips. Then he sent them away.

5 When the people told David what had happened to his officers, he sent messengers to meet them, because they were very ashamed. King David said, "Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back. Then come home."

6 The Ammonites knew that they had insulted David. So Hanun and the Ammonites sent about seventy-four thousand pounds of silver to hire chariots and chariot drivers from Northwest Mesopotamia, Aram Maacah, and Zobah.

7 The Ammonites hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah and his army. So they came and set up camp near the town of Medeba. The Ammonites themselves came out of their towns and got ready for battle.

8 When David heard about this, he sent Joab with the whole army.

9 The Ammonites came out and prepared for battle at the city gate. The kings who had come to help were out in the field by themselves.

10 Joab saw that there were enemies both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the best soldiers of Israel and sent them out to fight the Arameans.

11 Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. Then they went out to fight the Ammonites.

12 Joab said to Abishai, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you.

13 Be strong. We must fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what he thinks is right."

14 Then Joab and the army with him went to attack the Arameans, and the Arameans ran away.

15 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were running away, they also ran away from Joab's brother Abishai and went back to their city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.

16 When the Arameans saw that Israel had defeated them, they sent messengers to bring other Arameans from east of the Euphrates River. Their leader was Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer's army.

17 When David heard about this, he gathered all the Israelites, and they crossed over the Jordan River. He prepared them for battle, facing the Arameans. The Arameans fought with him,

18 but they ran away from the Israelites. David killed seven thousand Aramean chariot drivers and forty thousand Aramean foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, the commander of the Aramean army.

19 When those who served Hadadezer saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they made peace with David and served him. So the Arameans refused to help the Ammonites again.

1 In the spring, the time of year when kings normally went out to battle, Joab led out the army of Israel. But David stayed in Jerusalem. The army of Israel destroyed the land of Ammon and went to the city of Rabbah and attacked it.

2 David took the crown off the head of their king, and had it placed on his own head. That gold crown weighed about seventy-five pounds, and it had valuable gems in it. And David took many valuable things from the city.

3 He also brought out the people of the city and forced them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his army returned to Jerusalem.

4 Later, at Gezer, war broke out with the Philistines. Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the descendants of the Rephaites. So those Philistines were defeated.

5 Later, there was another battle with the Philistines. Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath, who was from the town of Gath. His spear was as large as a weaver's rod.

6 At Gath another battle took place. A huge man was there; he had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot -- twenty-four fingers and toes in all. This man also was one of the sons of Rapha.

7 When he spoke against Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him.

8 These descendants of Rapha from Gath were killed by David and his men.

1 Satan was against Israel, and he caused David to count the people of Israel.

2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count all the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then tell me so I will know how many there are."

3 But Joab said, "May the Lord give the nation a hundred times more people. My master the king, all the Israelites are your servants. Why do you want to do this, my master? You will make Israel guilty of sin."

4 But the king commanded Joab, so Joab left and went through all Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

5 Joab gave the list of the people to David. There were one million one hundred thousand men in all of Israel who could use the sword, and there were four hundred seventy thousand men in Judah who could use the sword.

6 But Joab did not count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he didn't like King David's order.

7 David had done something God had said was wrong, so God punished Israel.

8 Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by what I have done! Now, I beg you to forgive me, your servant, because I have been very foolish."

9 The Lord said to Gad, who was David's seer,

10 "Go and tell David, 'This is what the Lord says: I offer you three choices. Choose one of them and I will do it.'"

11 So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Choose for yourself

12 three years of hunger. Or choose three months of running from your enemies as they chase you with their swords. Or choose three days of punishment from the Lord, in which a terrible disease will spread through the country. The angel of the Lord will go through Israel destroying the people.' Now, David, decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me."

13 David said to Gad, "I am in great trouble. Let the Lord punish me, because the Lord is very merciful. Don't let my punishment come from human beings."

14 So the Lord sent a terrible disease on Israel, and seventy thousand people died.

15 God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but when the angel started to destroy it, the Lord saw it and felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. So he said to the angel who was destroying, "That is enough! Put down your arm!" The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord in the sky, holding his sword drawn and pointed at Jerusalem. Then David and the older leaders bowed facedown on the ground. They were wearing rough cloth to show their grief.

17 David said to God, "I am the one who sinned and did wrong. I gave the order for the people to be counted. These people only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Lord my God, please punish me and my family, but stop the terrible disease that is killing your people."

18 Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David that he should build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

19 So David did what Gad told him to do, in the name of the Lord.

20 Araunah was separating the wheat from the straw. When he turned around, he saw the angel. Araunah's four sons who were with him hid.

21 David came to Araunah, and when Araunah saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed facedown on the ground before David.

22 David said to him, "Sell me your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord here. Then the terrible disease will stop. Sell it to me for the full price."

23 Araunah said to David, "Take this threshing floor. My master the king, do anything you want. Look, I will also give you oxen for the whole burnt offerings, the threshing boards for the wood, and wheat for the grain offering. I give everything to you."

24 But King David answered Araunah, "No, I will pay the full price for the land. I won't take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord. I won't offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing."

25 So David paid Araunah about fifteen pounds of gold for the place.

26 David built an altar to the Lord there and offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. David prayed to the Lord, and he answered him by sending down fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

27 Then the Lord commanded the angel to put his sword back into its holder.

28 When David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah, he offered sacrifices there.

29 The Holy Tent that Moses made while the Israelites were in the desert and the altar of burnt offerings were in Gibeon at the place of worship.

30 But David could not go to the Holy Tent to speak with God, because he was afraid of the angel of the Lord and his sword. David said, "The Temple of the Lord God and the altar for Israel's burnt offerings will be built here."