2 Samuel 24:10-25

10Now 1David’s heart 2troubled him after he had counted the people. So David said to the Lord, “3I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, Lord, please 4overlook the guilt of Your servant, for 5I have acted very foolishly.” 11When David got up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to 6Gad the prophet, David’s 7seer, saying, 12“Go and speak to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am imposing upon you three choices; choose for yourself one of them, and I will do it 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 for three months before your enemies while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days of plague 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 human hands.”

15So 10the Lord 11sent a plague upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people 12from Dan to Beersheba died. 1613When the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, 14the Lord relented of the disaster and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now drop 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.” 19Then David went up in accordance with the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. 20And Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; so 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, 19so that the plague may be 20withdrawn from the people.” 22Araunah then said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, here are 21the 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 be 22favorable to you.” 24However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price; for 23I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God 24that cost me nothing.” So 25David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25Then David built there an altar to the Lord, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And 26the Lord responded to prayer for the land, and the plague was 27withdrawn from Israel.