David Counts His Fighting Men
1Satan rose up against Israel. He stirred up David to count the men of Israel. 2So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go! Count the men of Israel from Beersheba all the way to Dan. Report back to me. Then I’ll know how many there are.”
3Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops 100 times. King David, you are my master. Aren’t all the men under your control? Why would you want me to count them? Do you want to make Israel guilty?”
4In spite of what Joab said, the king’s order had more authority than Joab’s reply did. So Joab left and went all through Israel. Then he came back to Jerusalem. 5Joab reported to David how many fighting men he had counted. In the whole land of Israel there were 1,100,000 men who could use their swords well. That included 470,000 men in Judah.
6But Joab didn’t include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the total number. The king’s command was sickening to Joab. 7It was also evil in the sight of God. So he punished Israel.
8Then David said to God, “I committed a great sin when I counted Israel’s men. I beg you to take away my guilt. I’ve done a very foolish thing.”
9The Lord spoke to Gad, David’s prophet. The Lord said, 10“Go and tell David, ‘The Lord says, “I could punish you in three different ways. Choose one of them for me to punish you with.” ’ ”
11So Gad went to David. Gad said to him, “The Lord says, ‘Take your choice. 12You can have three years when there will not be enough food in the land. You can have three months when your enemies will sweep you away. They will catch up with you. They will destroy you with their swords. Or you can have three days when the sword of the Lord will punish you. That means there would be three days of plague in the land. My angel would strike down people in every part of Israel.’ So take your pick. Tell me how to answer the one who sent me.”
13David said to Gad, “I’m suffering terribly. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord. His mercy is very great. But don’t let me fall into human hands.”
14So the Lord sent a plague on Israel. And 70,000 Israelites died. 15God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing it, the Lord saw it. The Lord decided to end the plague he had sent. So he spoke to the angel who was destroying the people. He said, “That is enough! Do not kill any more people!” The angel of the Lord was standing at Araunah’s threshing floor. Araunah was from the city of Jebus.
16David looked up. He saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth. The angel was holding out a sword over Jerusalem. David and the elders fell with their faces to the ground. They were wearing the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad.
17David said to God, “I ordered the fighting men to be counted. I’m the one who has sinned. I am the shepherd of these people. I’m the one who has done what is wrong. These people are like sheep. What have they done? Lord my God, punish me and my family. But don’t let this plague continue to strike your people.”
David Builds an Altar
18Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up to the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. He wanted David to build an altar there to honor the Lord. 19So David went up and did it. He obeyed the message that Gad had spoken in the Lord’s name.
20Araunah was threshing wheat. He turned and saw the angel. Araunah’s four children were with him. They hid themselves. 21David approached the threshing floor. Araunah looked up and saw him. So Araunah left the threshing floor. He bowed down to David with his face toward the ground.
22David said to him, “Let me have the property your threshing floor is on. I want to build an altar there to honor the Lord. When I do, the plague on the people will be stopped. Sell the threshing floor to me for the full price.”
23Araunah said to David, “Take it! King David, you are my master. Do what you please. I’ll even provide the oxen for the burnt offerings. Use boards from the threshing sleds for the wood. Use the wheat for the grain offering. I’ll give it all to you.”
24But King David replied to Araunah, “No! I want to pay the full price. I won’t take what belongs to you and give it to the Lord. I won’t sacrifice a burnt offering that hasn’t cost me anything.”
25So David paid Araunah 15 pounds of gold for the property. 26David built an altar there to honor the Lord. He sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. He called out to the Lord. The Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven on the altar for burnt offerings.
27Then the Lord spoke to the angel. And the angel put his sword away. 28When the angel did that, David was still at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite. David saw that the Lord had answered him. So he offered sacrifices there. 29At that time, the Lord’s holy tent was at the high place in Gibeon. The altar for burnt offerings was there too. Moses had made the holy tent in the desert. 30David couldn’t go to the tent to pray to God. That’s because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
David conta os homens de guerra
(2 Sm 24.1-17)
1Satanás conseguiu trazer uma desgraça sobre Israel, levando David a fazer um recenseamento de Israel. 2“Faz o recenseamento geral de todo o povo, desde Dan até Berseba e traz-me os totais”, disse David a Joabe e aos outros chefes.
3Joabe replicou: “Ainda que o Senhor multiplicasse o seu povo cem vezes mais, não continuaria a pertencer-te? Então porque é que queres fazer uma coisa dessas? Porque levas Israel a pecar?”
4A vontade do rei prevaleceu contra a argumentação de Joabe. Este foi por toda a terra de Israel e voltou a Jerusalém. 5Joabe trouxe o número total do povo ao rei: eram 1 100 000 homens em idade de serviço militar em Israel e 470 000 em Judá. 6Não incluiu as tribos de Levi e de Benjamim nestes números, porque esta iniciativa do rei lhe pareceu muito mal. 7Deus também não se agradou com este recenseamento e castigou Israel.
8David disse então a Deus: “Pequei gravemente ao fazer tal coisa. Peço-te que me perdoes, porque reconheço que agi loucamente.”
9O Senhor disse a Gad, o vidente de David: 10“Vai dizer a David: O Senhor propõe-te três coisas; escolhe a que preferes.” 11Gad veio ter com David e perguntou-lhe: “O que é que tu escolhes? 12Queres escolher três anos de fome, três meses de destruição por parte dos inimigos de Israel, ou três dias duma praga mortal, trazida pelo anjo do Senhor com a sua espada sobre o povo? Pensa nisso e depois dá-me uma resposta, para que a transmita a quem me enviou.”
13“É uma decisão muito difícil”, respondeu David. “É melhor cair nas mãos do Senhor, porque grande é a sua misericórdia, do que nas mãos dos homens.”
14Então o Senhor enviou uma praga sobre Israel, de tal forma que chegaram a morrer 70 000 pessoas. 15Durante essa praga, Deus enviou um anjo para destruir Jerusalém. Quando o anjo do Senhor se preparava para estender a sua mão sobre Jerusalém para a destruir, por causa da grande compaixão que sentiu, o Senhor ordenou ao anjo destruidor: “Para! Já basta!” O anjo do Senhor estava sobre a eira de Ornã, o jebuseu. 16Quando David viu o anjo do Senhor entre o céu e a Terra, com a sua espada desembainhada apontada para Jerusalém, tanto ele como os anciãos de Israel vestiram-se de pano de saco e prostraram-se.
17David disse a Deus: “Fui eu quem pecou, ordenando esse recenseamento. Estas ovelhas, que fizeram elas de mal? Ó Senhor, meu Deus, destrói-me a mim e à minha família, mas não o teu povo.”
David constrói um altar
(2 Sm 24.18-25)
18O anjo do Senhor disse ao profeta Gad que desse instruções a David para subir à eira de Ornã, o jebuseu, e ali construir um altar ao Senhor. 19David pôs-se logo a caminho, como o Senhor lhe tinha ordenado por intermédio de Gad.
20Ornã estava, nesse momento, a malhar o trigo e viu o anjo, ao virar-se; os seus quatro filhos fugiram e esconderam-se. 21Entretanto, Ornã reparou em David que se aproximava. Deixou logo a eira e foi inclinar-se com o rosto no chão perante o rei David.
22David disse-lhe: “Vende-me esta eira pelo preço exato do seu valor, para que aqui construa um altar ao Senhor, a fim de que cesse esta praga.”
23“Fica já com ela, meu senhor, e usa-a como melhor entenderes”, respondeu Ornã a David. “Toma também os bois para o holocausto; até os instrumentos de madeira que aí estão podem servir de lenha para o fogo, e o trigo poderá ser para uma oferta de cereais. Tudo te dou.”
24“Não”, disse David. “Quero comprar-ta pelo seu preço; não posso tomar o que é teu e dá-lo ao Senhor. Não oferecerei a Deus holocaustos que nada me custem.” 25David pagou a Ornã 7 quilos de ouro. 26Construiu ali um altar ao Senhor e sacrificou holocaustos e ofertas de paz sobre ele. A seguir, invocou o Senhor, que respondeu enviando fogo do céu para queimar as ofertas que estavam no altar.
27O Senhor mandou que o anjo pusesse a espada na bainha. 28Quando David viu que o Senhor respondera, fez novos sacrifícios. 29Nessa altura, o tabernáculo e o altar dos holocaustos que Moisés mandara construir estavam na colina de Gibeão. 30Contudo, David não pôde deslocar-se até lá para consultar a Deus, pois estava aterrorizado com a espada ameaçadora do anjo do Senhor.
