And the remainder of the people he put in the hand of Abishai his brother, and they were arranged to meet the {Ammonites}.

And he said, "If Aram is too strong for me, then you must be a help to me, but if the {Ammonites} are too strong for you, then I will help you.

Be strong! Let us strengthen ourselves on behalf of our people and on behalf of the cities of our God. And may Yahweh do [what is] good in his eyes."

And Joab and the people who [were] with him drew near before Aram for battle, and they fled before him.

And when the {Ammonites} saw that Aram had fled, they also fled before Abishai his brother, and they came to the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

And when Aram saw that they were defeated before Israel, they sent messengers and brought out Aram, who [was from] beyond the Euphrates, with Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer before them.

And when it was told to David, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. And he came to them and was arrayed against them. Then David was arrayed to meet Aram in battle, and they fought with him.

And Aram fled before Israel. And David killed from Aram [the men of] seven thousand chariots and forty thousand foot soldiers, and he put to death Shophach the commander of the army.

And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with David and became servants to him. So Aram was no longer willing to help the {Ammonites}.

And it happened [that] {in the spring time of year}, the time [when] kings go out [to battle], Joab led the troops of the army and destroyed the land of the {Ammonites}. And he came and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab struck Rabbah and destroyed it.

And David took the crown of their king from his head and found it to weigh a talent of gold. And in it [was] a precious stone. Then it was [placed] upon the head of David. And he brought out the booty of the city, a large amount.

And the people who [were] in it he brought out, and {he set them to work with saws and iron implements and axes}. Thus David did to all the cities of the {Ammonites}. Then David returned, and all the nation [went] with him.

And after this there arose a war in Gezer with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaim. And they were subdued.

And again there was war with the Philistines. And Elhanan son of Jair struck down Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear [was] like a weaver's beam.

And again there was war in Gath. And there was a {very tall} man [there], and {he had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all}. He himself [was] also a descendant of the Rephaim.

And he taunted Israel, but Jehonathan son of Shimea, brother of David, struck him down.

These were born to the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Then Satan stood against Israel and urged David to count Israel.

So David said to Joab and to the commanders of the nation, "Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan and bring a report to me that I might know their number."

But the word of the king prevailed over Joab. Then he went about through all Israel and came to Jerusalem.

And Joab gave the number of the enrollment of the people to David. And it happened [that] all Israel [was] one million one hundred thousand men drawing a sword, and in Judah [were] four hundred and seventy thousand men drawing a sword.

But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the word of the king was repulsive to Joab.

But this word was displeasing in the eyes of God, and he struck Israel.

So Gad came to David and said to him, "Thus says Yahweh: 'Choose for yourself:

whether three years of famine or three months of devastation by your enemies while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days of the sword of Yahweh, with disease in the land and the angel of Yahweh destroying throughout all the territory in Israel.' So now, see what word I should return to my sender."

Then David said to Gad, "{I am very troubled}. Let me into the hand of Yahweh, for his compassion is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of a man."

So Yahweh sent a pestilence through Israel, and seventy thousand men from Israel fell.

And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, and as [he was about] to destroy [it], Yahweh saw and was grieved on account of the calamity. Then he said to the angel, the destroyer, "[It is] enough; slacken your hand." And the angel of Yahweh was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, with his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.

Then David said to God, "Was it not I [who] gave a command to count the people? Now I [am] he who has sinned, and I have certainly done wickedness, but these sheep, what have they done? O Yahweh, my God, please let your hand be against me and against the house of my father, but against your people, [let there be] no plague."

Now the angel of Yahweh had spoken to Gad to say to David that David should go up [and] erect an altar for Yahweh.

So David went up at the word of Gad that he had spoken in the name of Yahweh.

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

Then David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and they bowed down to David, faces to the ground.

And Ornan said to David, "Take [it] to yourself; let my lord the king do what [is] good in his eyes. See, I give the cattle for the burnt offerings and threshing sledges for the wood and wheat for the grain offering--I give [it] all."

But King David said to Ornan, "No, for I will certainly buy [it] at full value; indeed, I will not take what is yours for Yahweh and offer burnt offerings for nothing."

Then David built an altar there to Yahweh, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and he called to Yahweh. And he answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.

Then Yahweh commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

Now the tabernacle of Yahweh that Moses had made in the desert and the altar of burnt offering [were] at that time at the high place of Gibeon.

Then David said, "This will be the house of Yahweh God, and this altar of burnt offering for Israel."

And David commanded to assemble the resident aliens who [were] in the land of Israel and appointed stone craftsmen to cut dressed stones to build the house of God.

And David provided much iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for the seams, and abundant copper [that] could not be weighed,

and cedar timbers without number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought abundant cedars to David.

Then David said, "Solomon my son [is] a boy and inexperienced, and the house built for Yahweh [must be] exceedingly great in fame and splendor throughout every land. I will make preparations for him." So David provided abundant [materials] before he died.

Then he called to Solomon his son and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel.

And David said to Solomon his son, "I myself had in my heart to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God,

but it happened [that] the word of Yahweh [came] over me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have made much war; you shall not build a house for my name because you have shed much blood upon the ground before me.

Behold, a son shall be born to you; he himself will be a man of rest, and I will give rest to him from all his enemies all around, for his name will be Solomon, and peace and quietness I will give to Israel in his days.

He himself will build a house for my name, and he himself will be to me a son, and I [will be] to him as a father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

Now, my son, Yahweh will be with you, that you may succeed and build the house of Yahweh your God as he has spoken concerning you.

Only may Yahweh give to you understanding and insight that he might give you charge over Israel and the keeping of the law of Yahweh your God.

Then you will prosper if you take care to do the statutes and judgments which Yahweh commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and be courageous; fear not and do not be dismayed.

Now see, with great effort I have made provision for the house of Yahweh: 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron [that] cannot be weighed, for there is an abundance. Also timber and stone I have provided, but to these you should add.

And with you [there is] an abundance of craftsmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and everyone skilled in every [kind of] craftsmanship

with gold, silver, bronze, and iron without number. Arise and work! Yahweh will be with you!"

And David commanded all the commanders of Israel to help Solomon his son, [saying],

"Is not Yahweh your God with you? And has he [not] given you rest all around? For he has put in my hand the inhabitants of the land, and the land is subdued before Yahweh and before his people.

Now set your heart and mind to seek Yahweh your Go, and arise and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, that the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God might be brought into the house built for the name of Yahweh.

Now David [was] old and full of days. And he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

And he assembled all the commanders of Israel and the priests and the Levites.

And the Levites thirty years old and above were counted, and their number according to their head count for the men [was] thirty-eight thousand.

Of these, [David said,] "Twenty-four thousand [are] to direct the work of the house of Yahweh, along with six thousand judges and officials

four thousand gatekeepers, [and] four thousand offering praise with the instruments that I have made for praise."

And David organized them [in] divisions according to the sons of Levi: to Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

For the Gershonites [were] Ladan and Shimei.

The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief and Zetham and Joel, three.

The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These [were] the heads of the {families} of Ladan.

And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah; these four [were] the sons of Shimei.

And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons. They were enrolled as one for the house of a father.

The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to consecrate the most holy things. He and his sons [were] to burn offerings forever before Yahweh to serve him and to bless in his name forever.

But Moses the man of God [and] his sons were reckoned among the tribe of Levi

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

And the sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah, the head. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth

The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish

And Eleazar died, and he did not have sons, but only daughters. And the sons of Kish, their relatives, married them.

The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

These [were] the sons of Levi according to the house of their fathers, the heads of the {families}, according to their enrollment, by the number of the names, according to their head count, [who were to] do the work of the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and above.

For David said, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.

And also, the Levites do not [need] to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service."

For by the last words of David, they [are] the number of the sons of Levi, from twenty years old and above.

For their station [was] {to assist} the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of Yahweh, over the courtyards, over the chambers, and over the cleansing of all the sanctified objects, and [with] the work of the service of the house of God,

and with the rows of bread, the flour, the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering, the offering mixed with oil, and for all the amounts and measurements.

And [they were] to stand {every morning}, thanking and praising Yahweh, and likewise in the evening,

and for every burnt offering offered to Yahweh, on Sabbaths, on new moon festivals, and at the appointed feasts, according to the customary number {required of them}, regularly before Yahweh.

And they shall keep the responsibility of the tent of assembly, the responsibility of the sanctified objects, and the responsibility of the sons of Aaron, their brothers, to serve the house of Yahweh.

And as for the sons of Aaron, [these were] their divisions. The sons of Aaron [were] Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

And Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and {they had no sons}, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests.

And David, with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their appointments for their service.

And more sons of Eleazar were found as heads of the men than the sons of Ithamar, so they divided them to the sons of Eleazar [to be] sixteen heads over the house of the fathers, and to the sons of Ithamar over the house of the fathers [were] eight [heads].

They divided them by lot {all alike}, for they were commanders of the sanctuary and commanders of God from among the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar.

And Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, the scribe, from the Levites, recorded them before the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the {families} of the priests and Levites, one father's house drawn by Lot for Eleazar and one drawn by lot for Ithamar.

And the first lot went out to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,

These [were] their appointments for their service to come into the house of Yahweh according to their custom by the hand of Aaron their father, as Yahweh the God of Israel had commanded him.

And as for the remainder of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Jaaziah, his son.

The sons of Merari: of Jaaziah, his son, Shoham, Zakkur, and Ibri.

And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These [were] the sons of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.