Breath & Blueprint: Your Creative Awakening

Stormproof

Returning Home: A Journey of Grace Through the Parable of the Prodigal Son

Unapologetically Sold Out: 7 Days of Prayers for Millennials to Live Whole-Heartedly Committed to Jesus Christ

Judges | Chapter Summaries + Study Questions

Let Us Pray

Homesick for Heaven

FruitFULL - Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control - the Mature Expression of Faith

Faith in Hard Times

Ruth | Chapter Summaries + Study Questions

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

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Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2SA">
 <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="2SA.24">
 <div class="label">24</div><div class="s1">David Enrolls the Fighting Men</div><div class="p"> 1Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, &#8220;Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2So the king said to Joab and the army commanders#24:2 Septuagint (see also verse 4 and 1 Chron. 21:2); Hebrew Joab the army commander with him, &#8220;Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But Joab replied to the king, &#8220;May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4The king&#8217;s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 5After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer. 6They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon. 7Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.</div><div class="p"> 8After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.</div><div class="p"> 9Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.</div><div class="p"> 10David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, &#8220;I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David&#8217;s seer: 12&#8220;Go and tell David, &#8216;This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13So Gad went to David and said to him, &#8220;Shall there come on you three#24:13 Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 21:12); Hebrew seven years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14David said to Gad, &#8220;I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, &#8220;Enough! Withdraw your hand.&#8221; The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.</div><div class="p"> 17When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, &#8220;I have sinned; I, the shepherd,#24:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have the shepherd. have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">David Builds an Altar</div><div class="p"> 18On that day Gad went to David and said to him, &#8220;Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.&#8221; 19So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.</div><div class="p"> 21Araunah said, &#8220;Why has my lord the king come to his servant?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;To buy your threshing floor,&#8221; David answered, &#8220;so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Araunah said to David, &#8220;Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23Your Majesty, Araunah#24:23 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts King Araunah gives all this to the king.&#8221; Araunah also said to him, &#8220;May the Lord your God accept you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24But the king replied to Araunah, &#8220;No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.&#8221;</div><div class="p">So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels#24:24 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams of silver for them. 25David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1CH">
 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="1CH.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">David Counts the Fighting Men</div><div class="p"> 1Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, &#8220;Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But Joab replied, &#8220;May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord&#8217;s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4The king&#8217;s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.</div><div class="p"> 6But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king&#8217;s command was repulsive to him. 7This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.</div><div class="p"> 8Then David said to God, &#8220;I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9The Lord said to Gad, David&#8217;s seer, 10&#8220;Go and tell David, &#8216;This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11So Gad went to David and said to him, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;Take your choice: 12three years of famine, three months of being swept away#21:12 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also 2 Samuel 24:13) of fleeing before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord&#8212;days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.&#8217; Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13David said to Gad, &#8220;I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. 15And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, &#8220;Enough! Withdraw your hand.&#8221; The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah#21:15 Hebrew Ornan, a variant of Araunah; also in verses 18-28 the Jebusite.</div><div class="p"> 16David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.</div><div class="p"> 17David said to God, &#8220;Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd,#21:17 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see 2 Samuel 24:17 and note); Masoretic Text does not have the shepherd. have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">David Builds an Altar</div><div class="p"> 18Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 20While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.</div><div class="p"> 22David said to him, &#8220;Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Araunah said to David, &#8220;Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24But King David replied to Araunah, &#8220;No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels#21:25 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms of gold for the site. 26David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.</div><div class="p"> 27Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. 28At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. 29The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. 30But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1CH">
 <div class="chapter ch22" data-usfm="1CH.22">
 <div class="label">22</div><div class="p"> 1Then David said, &#8220;The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Preparations for the Temple</div><div class="p"> 2So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.</div><div class="p"> 5David said, &#8220;My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.&#8221; So David made extensive preparations before his death.</div><div class="p"> 6Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7David said to Solomon: &#8220;My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8But this word of the Lord came to me: &#8216;You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,#22:9 Solomon sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for peace. and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents#22:14 That is, about 3,750 tons or about 3,400 metric tons of gold, a million talents#22:14 That is, about 37,500 tons or about 34,000 metric tons of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16in gold and silver, bronze and iron&#8212;craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18He said to them, &#8220;Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="PSA.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="cl">Psalm 30#In Hebrew texts 30:1-12 is numbered 30:2-13.</div><div class="d">A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.#Title: Or palace Of David.</div><div class="q1"> 1I will exalt you, Lord,</div><div class="q2">for you lifted me out of the depths</div><div class="q2">and did not let my enemies gloat over me.</div><div class="q1"> 2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,</div><div class="q2">and you healed me.</div><div class="q1"> 3You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;</div><div class="q2">you spared me from going down to the pit.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;</div><div class="q2">praise his holy name.</div><div class="q1"> 5For his anger lasts only a moment,</div><div class="q2">but his favor lasts a lifetime;</div><div class="q1">weeping may stay for the night,</div><div class="q2">but rejoicing comes in the morning.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6When I felt secure, I said,</div><div class="q2">&#8220;I will never be shaken.&#8221;</div><div class="q1"> 7 Lord, when you favored me,</div><div class="q2">you made my royal mountain#30:7 That is, Mount Zion stand firm;</div><div class="q1">but when you hid your face,</div><div class="q2">I was dismayed.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 8To you, Lord, I called;</div><div class="q2">to the Lord I cried for mercy:</div><div class="q1"> 9&#8220;What is gained if I am silenced,</div><div class="q2">if I go down to the pit?</div><div class="q1">Will the dust praise you?</div><div class="q2">Will it proclaim your faithfulness?</div><div class="q1"> 10Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;</div><div class="q2"> Lord, be my help.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 11You turned my wailing into dancing;</div><div class="q2">you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,</div><div class="q1"> 12that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.</div><div class="q2"> Lord my God, I will praise you forever.</div>
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