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1 Chronicles 21

KJV · Chapter 21/29

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

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

3And 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?

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

5And 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.

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

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

8And 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.

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

10Go 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.

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

12Either 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.

13And 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.

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

15And 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.

16And 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.

17And 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.

18Then 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.

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

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

21And 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.

22Then 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.

23And 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.

24And 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.

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

26And 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.

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

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

29For 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.

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

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David orders a census of the people out of pride, which deeply displeases God. As punishment, a plague strikes Israel, but David intercedes and, following prophetic instruction, buys a plot of land where he builds an altar — the same place where the temple would later be built.

Explanation

Counting the people was not a sin in itself — the law of Moses allowed for censuses — but the problem here was the motive: pride in measuring and displaying his own military strength, rather than trusting God as the source of strength. Even Joab, David's general, recognizes that this was a bad idea. When the punishment comes, David shows genuine leadership by asking that the punishment fall on him rather than on the innocent people, saying, 'these sheep, what have they done?' The plot of land he buys from Ornan the Jebusite, refusing to receive it for free because he wanted to offer God something that truly cost him something, would become exactly the site where Solomon would build the temple — a powerful geographical and spiritual connection between this moment of repentance and the nation's future center of worship.

Fun facts

  • Mount Moriah, where Ornan had his threshing floor and where the temple would be built, is the same site identified in Genesis 22 as the place where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac centuries earlier — a striking geographical continuity between the two events.
  • David's statement when he refused to receive the land for free — 'neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing' — became a widely quoted spiritual principle about the value of genuine sacrifice in worship.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Chronicles 21:1Here is one of the biggest differences between Chronicles and Samuel: in the account in Samuel, it is the LORD Himself who incites David to take the census; here it is ‘Satan’ who incites him. It is not a pure contradiction — the text of Chronicles prefers not to directly credit God with the origin of an act that is later called sin.
  2. 1 Chronicles 21:2David orders Joab and the leaders to count all the people of Israel, from one end of the territory to the other — an order that sounds administrative, but the very next verse shows is not so innocent after all.
  3. 1 Chronicles 21:3Joab, usually willing to obey any order from David, openly questions this one: why do this, when everyone is already the king’s servant without being counted, and it will only bring guilt on Israel?
  4. 1 Chronicles 21:4Even with Joab’s objection, the king’s order prevails; he travels through the whole territory and returns to Jerusalem with the result — David’s will wins out over his own general’s good sense.
  5. 1 Chronicles 21:5The final result: more than a million men fit for war across all Israel, and nearly half a million in Judah alone — a number that shows the real size of the kingdom David built.
  6. 1 Chronicles 21:6Joab leaves Levi and Benjamin out of the count, a detail that shows even he was resisting the king’s order, uneasy about this census from the start.
  7. 1 Chronicles 21:7It is not just Joab who disapproves: God Himself is displeased with this count, and because of it strikes Israel — confirming that the problem was not just a human grudge.
  8. 1 Chronicles 21:8David admits the mistake quickly and without excuses: ‘I have sinned greatly... I have done very foolishly’ — a direct repentance, with no attempt to justify his own decision.
  9. 1 Chronicles 21:9The LORD speaks to Gad, described as ‘David’s seer’ — a prophet specifically attached to the royal court, distinct from Nathan, who also appears at other points in the reign.
  10. 1 Chronicles 21:10God proposes three possible punishments and leaves the choice to David himself — an unusual form of discipline that still leaves the sinning king some room to decide.
  11. 1 Chronicles 21:11Gad carries God’s message to David and repeats it: choose one of the three options — the prophet acts as go-between in this heavy negotiation.
  12. 1 Chronicles 21:12All three options are grave: three years of famine, three months fleeing before enemies, or three days of plague in the land caused by an angel — Gad asks for an answer to carry back to the One who sent him.
  13. 1 Chronicles 21:13David chooses to fall into the hands of the LORD, not into the hands of men, trusting that God’s mercy is greater than human cruelty — even knowing this means accepting the plague.
  14. 1 Chronicles 21:14The plague comes, and seventy thousand men of Israel die — a high price paid by the people for a decision that was not theirs, but the king’s.
  15. 1 Chronicles 21:15In the middle of the destruction, God relents from the disaster and has the angel stop right above the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite — the exact spot where, without anyone knowing it yet, the temple of Jerusalem will be born.
  16. 1 Chronicles 21:16David sees the angel hovering between earth and heaven, sword drawn and pointed at Jerusalem, and falls facedown covered in sackcloth along with the elders — a scene of visual dread, not just abstract repentance.
  17. 1 Chronicles 21:17David takes on full responsibility and defends the people: ‘even I it is that have sinned... but as for these sheep, what have they done?’ — he asks for the punishment to fall on him and his family alone, not on the innocent people.
  18. 1 Chronicles 21:18The plot of land David buys from Ornan the Jebusite, to raise an altar and stop the plague, is the exact place where Solomon’s temple will later be built. This purchase explains why the temple stands there and not on some other hill of Jerusalem.
  19. 1 Chronicles 21:19Obeying Gad’s word, David goes up to the indicated spot — the first practical step toward resolving the crisis he himself caused.
  20. 1 Chronicles 21:20Ornan, busy threshing wheat, turns and sees the angel, and hides in terror along with his four sons — an ordinary man interrupted mid-work by a supernatural vision.
  21. 1 Chronicles 21:21Seeing David approach, Ornan leaves the threshing floor and bows with his face to the ground before the king — a gesture of full respect and submission.
  22. 1 Chronicles 21:22David asks for the threshing floor to build an altar, insisting on paying the full price for it — already showing he does not want to receive something so important for free.
  23. 1 Chronicles 21:23Ornan offers to give it all for free: the oxen for the sacrifice, the threshing tools for wood, and the wheat itself for the offering — a generous gesture that David will still turn down.
  24. 1 Chronicles 21:24David insists on paying the full price, with a line that became a principle: he will not offer God a sacrifice that cost him nothing.
  25. 1 Chronicles 21:25David pays Ornan six hundred shekels of gold for the site — a much larger sum than the one mentioned in the parallel account in Samuel, probably because this one covers the whole hill, not just the plot of the threshing floor.
  26. 1 Chronicles 21:26David builds an altar there, offers sacrifices, and God answers with fire coming down from heaven onto the altar — a visible, immediate divine confirmation, leaving no doubt that the offering was accepted.
  27. 1 Chronicles 21:27The LORD commands the angel to put his sword back into its sheath — the danger hanging over Jerusalem finally ends.
  28. 1 Chronicles 21:28Seeing that God had answered him right there, at the threshing floor of Ornan, David begins sacrificing at that spot — the beginning of the continual use of a place that will still become far more important.
  29. 1 Chronicles 21:29The text explains why David did not go to the official place of worship: Moses’ tabernacle and the traditional altar were still up on the high place at Gibeon, far from there.
  30. 1 Chronicles 21:30David was afraid to go to Gibeon because of the angel’s sword still fresh in his memory — the practical reason that turns the threshing floor of Ornan into the new center of worship, preparing the exact ground where the temple will be built in the next chapter.

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