1 And the fury of the Lord was again kindled against Israel, and he stirred up David among them, saying: “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
2 And the king said to Joab, the leader of his army, “Travel through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know their number.”
3 And Joab said to the king: “May the Lord your God increase your people, who are already great in number, and may he again increase them, one hundredfold, in the sight of my lord the king. But what does my lord the king intend for himself by this kind of thing?”
4 But the words of the king prevailed over the words of Joab and the leaders of the army. And so Joab and the leaders of the military departed from the face of the king, so that they might number the people of Israel.
5 And when they had passed across the Jordan, they arrived at Aroer, to the right of the city, which is in the Valley of Gad.
6 And they continued on through Jazer, into Gilead, and to the lower land of Hodsi. And they arrived in the woodlands of Dan. And going around beside Sidon,
7 they passed near the walls of Tyre, and near all the land of the Hivite and the Canaanite. And they went into the south of Judah, to Beersheba.
8 And having inspected the entire land, after nine months and twenty days, they were present in Jerusalem.
9 Then Joab gave the number of the description of the people to the king. And there were found of Israel eight hundred thousand able-bodied men, who might draw the sword; and of Judah, five hundred thousand fighting men.
10 Then the heart of David struck him, after the people were numbered. And David said to the Lord: “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But I pray that you, O Lord, may take away the iniquity of your servant. For I have acted very foolishly.”
11 And David rose up in the morning, and the word of the Lord went to Gad, the prophet and seer of David, saying:
12 Go, and say to David: ‘Thus says the Lord: I present to you a choice of three things. Choose one of these, whichever you will, so that I may do it to you.’
13 And when Gad had gone to David, he announced it to him, saying: “Either seven years of famine will come to you in your land; or you will flee for three months from your adversaries, and they will pursue you; or there will be a pestilence in your land for three days. Now then, deliberate, and see what word I may respond to him who sent me.”
14 Then David said to Gad: “I am in great anguish. But it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men.”
15 And the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people, from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men.
16 And when the Angel of the Lord had extended his hand over Jerusalem, so that he might destroy it, the Lord took pity on the affliction. And he said to the Angel who was striking the people: “It is enough. Hold back your hand now.” And the Angel of the Lord was beside the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 And when he had seen the Angel cutting down the people, David said to the Lord: “I am the one who sinned. I have acted iniquitously. These ones who are the sheep, what have they done? I beg you that your hand may be turned against me and against my father’s house.”
18 Then Gad went to David on that day, and he said, “Ascend and construct an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 And David ascended in accord with the word of Gad, which the Lord had commanded to him.
20 And looking out, Araunah turned his attention to the king and his servants, passing toward him.
21 And going out, he adored the king, lying prone with his face to the ground, and he said, “What is the reason that my lord the king has come to his servant?” And David said to him, “So as to purchase the threshing floor from you, and to build an altar to the Lord, and to quiet the plague that rages among the people.”
22 And Araunah said to David: “May my lord the king offer and accept whatever is pleasing to him. You have oxen for a holocaust, and the cart and the yokes of the oxen to use for wood.”
23 All these things Araunah gave, as a king to a king. And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept your vow.”
24 And in response, the king said to him: “It shall not be as you wish. Instead, I will purchase it from you at a price. For I will not offer to the Lord, my God, holocausts that cost nothing.” Therefore, David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And in that place, David built an altar to the Lord. And he offered holocausts and peace offerings. And the Lord was gracious to the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.
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1 And the word of the Lord came to me, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying:
2 Son of man, write for yourself the name of this day, on which the king of Babylon was confirmed against Jerusalem today.
3 And you shall speak, through a proverb, a parable to the inciting house. And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Set out a cooking pot; set it out, I say, and put water into it.
4 Pile together within it every morsel, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder, the choice pieces and those full of bones.
5 Take the fattest from the flock, and arrange also a heap of bones under it. Its cooking has boiled over, and its bones in its midst have been thoroughly cooked.
6 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Woe to the city of blood, to the cooking pot that has rust in it, and whose rust has not gone out of it! Cast it out piece by piece! No lot has fallen upon it.
7 For her blood is in her midst; she has shed it upon the smoothest rock. She has not shed it upon the ground, so that it could be covered with dust.
8 So shall I bring my indignation over her, and take my vengeance. I have presented her blood upon the smoothest rock, so that it would not be covered.
9 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Woe to the city of blood, out of which I will make a great funeral pyre.
10 Pile together the bones, which I will burn with fire. The flesh shall be consumed, and the entire composition shall be boiled, and the bones shall deteriorate.
11 Also, place it empty on burning coals, so that it may be heated, and its brass may melt. And let the filth of it be melted in its midst, and let its rust be consumed.
12 There has been much sweat and labor, and yet its extensive rust has not gone out of it, not even by fire.
13 Your uncleanness is execrable. For I wanted to cleanse you, and you have not been cleansed from your filth. So then, neither will you be cleansed before I cause my indignation over you to cease.
19 And they spoke ill of God: they said: Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
20 Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his people?
21 Therefore the Lord heard, and was angry: and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel.
22 Because they believed not in God: and trusted not in his salvation.
23 And he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of heaven.
24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of angels: he sent them provisions in abundance.
25 who, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said: ‘Why have the Gentiles been seething, and why have the people been pondering nonsense?
26 The kings of the earth have stood up, and the leaders have joined together as one, against the Lord and against his Christ.’
27 For truly Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, joined together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed
28 to do what your hand and your counsel had decreed would be done.
29 And now, O Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to your servants that they may speak your word with all confidence,
30 by extending your hand in cures and signs and miracles, to be done through the name of your holy Son, Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered was moved. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they were speaking the Word of God with confidence.
32 Then the multitude of believers were of one heart and one soul. Neither did anyone say that any of the things that he possessed were his own, but all things were common to them.
33 And with great power, the Apostles were rendering testimony to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. And great grace was in them all.
34 And neither was anyone among them in need. For as many as were owners of fields or houses, selling these, were bringing the proceeds of the things that they were selling,
35 and were placing it before the feet of the Apostles. Then it was divided to each one, just as he had need.
36 Now Joseph, who the Apostles surnamed Barnabas (which is translated as ‘son of consolation’), who was a Levite of Cyprian descent,
37 since he had land, he sold it, and he brought the proceeds and placed these at the feet of the Apostles.
