2 Samuel 24:10-25

10Now 1David’s heart 2troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “3I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please 4take away the iniquity of Your servant, for 5I have acted very foolishly.” 11When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to 6the prophet Gad, David’s 7seer, saying, 12“Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the Lord says, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” 13So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall 8seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” 14Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord 9for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

15So 10the Lord 11sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people 12from Dan to Beersheba died. 1613When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, 14the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, 15it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but 16these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

18So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “17Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of 18Araunah the Jebusite.” 19David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. 20Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. 21Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, 19that the plague may be held back from the people.” 22Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, 20the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God 21accept you.” 24However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for 22I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God 23which cost me nothing.” So 24David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 25Thus the Lord was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.