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.
Dafite unobala bathu
(1 Zwiyitikalo 21:1-27)1 Yahwe bakazhala bushongola kakale ngekwe Iziraela bakakulumbidza Dafite ngekwabo beti, “Yenda unobala bathu be Iziraela ne be Juda.” 2 Ndizo mambo kadwa Joabu ne balauli be babhayani kati, “Yendani mungine mu njudzi dzose dze Iziraela, kudwa ku Dani kunoti ku Bheerisheba ubale bathu bose, kuti ndizibe kuti bangana.”
3 Koga Joabu kadwa mambo kati, “Dzene Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu bangapaphidza bathu kwakatathikana kungabe ka zana (100) kupinda kwe tjilizanyu tjabali itjo, ngono dzene kungashingikala tetshi wangu mambo batjatjila. Apa ini tetshi wangu mambo mushaka kuti bathu babagwe?” 4 Koga dama la mambo likadodomela muna Joabu ne balauli be babhayani. Ndizo Joabu ne balauli be babhayani bakayenda bedwa pana mambo kunobala bathu bose be Iziraela.
5 Bakatjulukila seli kwe Jorodani bakanotangisa kudwa mu Aroeri ne mu nzi nkulu upakati kwe nkuku, kuyendila ku Gadi kunoti ku Jazeri. 6 Bakanoswika ku ntuthu we Giliyadi ne ku Kadeshi mu ntuthu we Bahiti, ku ntuthu we Kadeshi, bakazha ku Dani, kudwa mu Dani bakanoswika ku Danijaani bakapoteleka bakanoti ne ku Sidoni. 7 Ngono bakaswika ku dizhilo le Tire ne mizi yose mikulu ye Bahivi ne Bakanana, bebuya bebhudila ku burwa gwe Juda ku Bheerisheba. 8 Ndizo shule kwe mwedzi ili zhanalume ina mazhuba ali makumi mabili (20), bakashanduklila ku Jerusalema basinopoteleka shango yose. 9 Bakabikila mambo mbalo ye balume bose bakazwilizanila kugwa: Bakabe bali zwiwulu zwili mazana ali zhanakadzi (800 000) mu Iziraela ne bali zwiwulu zwili mazana ali mashanu (500 000) mu Juda.
10 Dafite kalobgwa nge hana asinobe abala bathu. Ngono Dafite kati kuna Yahwe, “Ndatjinya kwazo muna tjandathama. Koga Yahwe, ndomukumbila nditi, dusani jinyo le nlanda wenyu, ngobe ndakathama bulengwe.” 11 Kukati Dafite emuka tjimuka, dama la Yahwe likazha ku nlebesambeli Gadi, mboni wa Dafite liti, 12 “Yenda unodwa Dafite uti, ‘Yahwe banolebeleka bakati, “Ndokupa zwithu zwili zwitatu, uzwishalulile tjing'ompela tjandingakuthamila itjo.” ’ ” 13 Ndizo Gadi kayenda kuna Dafite kambudza tjalebgwa ndi Yahwe, ebuya embhuzwa eti, “Ndikupi kwaunozwishalulila mu butatu gwazo? Wuti kuzhe makole ali kutendeka etobedzana kuli bhamba mu shango iyo, kene mimwedzi mitatu utizha zwita zwizo zwakakutatamila, kene mazhuba matatu e bugwele mu shango?” 14 Ndizo Dafite kashandula Gadi eti, “Ndomanikana kwazo, ngatiwile mu luboko gwa Yahwe ngoti ibo bana ngoni hwulu, koga tisiwile mu maboko e nthu.” 15 Ndizo Yahwe bakazhisa bugwele mu Iziraela kudwa mu mangwanana kunoti mu tjibaka tjakabe tjabigwa. Kukafa bathu bali zwiwulu zwili makumi ali tendeka (70 000) kudwa mu Dani kunoti ku Bheerisheba. 16 Kukati ntumwa we kudzimu atjimilidzila luboko gugwe ku Jerusalema ku ulobesa, Yahwe bakabuza moyo, bakadwa ntumwa we kudzimu wakabe elobesa bathu bakati, “Kwagala, tjishandusa luboko gugo!” Ntumwa wa Yahwe wakabe abe pa lutombo gwa Arauna we Njebusi. 17 Kukati Dafite ebona ntumwa we kudzimu wakabe ebulaya bathu kadwa Yahwe kati, “Bonani, ndimi ndakatjinya, ndakathama kwakabipa pkhwizi idzedzi idzo dzakathamani kene? Ndomukumbila ngakulobgwe imi ne nsha wangu.”
18 Mu zhuba ilelo Gadi kayenda kuna Dafite kandwa kati, “Tathila pezhugwi unobakila Yahwe tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo mu lutombo gwa Arauna we Njebusi.” 19 Ndizo Dafite wakahwilila Yahwe kanothama sekwa adwiwa ndi Gadi. 20 Kukati Arauna elinga pasi, kabona mambo ne balanda babe bezha kunli, ngono Arauna kabashanganidza kawa nge zwidwi kakotamisa nsholo mbeli kwa Dafite. 21 Arauna kabhuzwa eti, “Ini tetshi wangu mambo mazha ku nlanda wenyu?” Dafite kadabila eti, “Ndawotenga lutombo gugo kuti ndibakile Yahwe tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo mu guli, kuti magwadzi apele mu bathu.”
22 Arauna kashandula Dafite eti, “Tetshi wangu mambo bangatola tjipo tjabanowobe bebona tjakabalulwamila, mangabe ahwa, ne zwileyi ne majokwe e mangabe zwingabesiwa kuthama moto.” 23 Arauna kabe eti kuna mambo, “Zwithu zose izwezwi ndomupa izo, dzene Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu, banga amutjila tjibhayilo tjenyu.”
24 Koga mambo kadabila Arauna eti, “Aa, ndowotjilipa, andingaduse tjipo tjinopisiwa ndipa Yahwe Ndzimu wangu ndisalipa tjimwe.” Ndizo Dafite katenga lutombo ne mangabe nge shekele dze siliva dzili makumi mashanu (50). 25 Dafite kabakila Yahwe tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo. Kadusa tjibhayilo tjinopisiwa ne tjibhayilo tje mbakisano. Yahwe bakadabila kutembezela kukwe ne magwadzi kama mu Iziraela.