15. God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But when the angel started to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord saw it and felt sorry for all the suffering. So he said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Stop! That is enough!” This happened when the angel of the Lord was standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
16. David looked up and saw the Lord’S angel in the sky. The angel was holding his sword over the city of Jerusalem. Then David and the elders bowed with their faces touching the ground. They were wearing the special clothes to show their sadness.
17. David said to God, “I am the one who sinned. I gave the order for the people to be counted! I was wrong. The Israelites did not do anything wrong. Lord my God, punish me and my family, but stop the terrible sicknesses that are killing your people.”
18. Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Gad. He said, “Tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord. David must build that altar near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19. Gad told David this, and David went to Araunah’s threshing floor.
20. Araunah was threshing the wheat. He turned around and saw the angel. His four sons ran away to hide.
21. David walked up the hill to Araunah. Araunah saw him and left the threshing floor. He walked to David and bowed with his face to the ground in front of him.
22. David said to Araunah, “Sell me your threshing floor. I will pay you the full price. Then I can use the area to build an altar to worship the Lord. Then the terrible sicknesses will be stopped.”
23. Araunah said to David, “Take this threshing floor. You are my lord and king, so do whatever you want. Look, I will also give you cattle for the burnt offering. You can have the wooden threshing tools to burn for the fire on the altar. And I will give the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this to you.”
24. But King David answered Araunah, “No, I will pay you the full price. I will not take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not give offerings that cost me nothing.”
25. So David gave Araunah about 15 pounds of gold for the place.