13. Gad went to David and told him. Gad said, “Choose one of these three things. Should three years of hunger come to you and your land? Or should your enemies chase you for three months? Or should there be three days of disease in your country? Think about it. Then decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me.”
14. David said to Gad, “I am really in trouble. But the Lord is very merciful. So let the Lord punish us. Don’t let my punishment come from people!”
15. So the Lord sent disease on Israel. It began in the morning. And it continued until the chosen time to stop. From Dan to Beersheba 70,000 people died.
16. The angel raised his arm toward Jerusalem to destroy it also. But the Lord felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “That’s enough! Put down your arm!” At this time the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17. David saw the angel that killed the people. Then he said to the Lord, “I’ve sinned! I’ve done wrong! But these people only followed me like sheep! They did nothing wrong! Please let your punishment be against me and my father’s family!”
18. That day Gad came to David. Gad told him, “Go and build an altar to the Lord. Build it on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19. So David did what Gad told him to do. He obeyed the Lord’s command and went to see Araunah.
20. Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming to him. So he went out and bowed facedown on the ground.
21. He said, “Why has my master the king come to me?”David answered, “To buy the threshing floor from you. I want to build an altar to the Lord. Then the disease will stop.”
22. Araunah said to David, “My master and king, you may take anything you want for a sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the whole burnt offering. Here are the threshing boards and the yokes for the wood!
23. My king, I give everything to you!” Araunah also said to the king, “May the Lord your God be pleased with you!”
24. But the king answered Araunah, “No. I will pay you for the land. I won’t offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings which cost me nothing!”So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for one and one-fourth pounds of silver.