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¹ And Sathan stode agaynst Israel, & entysed Dauid to nombre Israel.² And Dauid sayde vnto Ioab & to ye rulers of the people: Go yor waye, nombre Israel from Berseba vnto Dan, and brynge me the nombre of the, that I maye knowe it.³ Ioab sayde: The LORDE make his people an hundreth tymes mo then they are now. But my lorde O kynge, are they not all my lordes seruauntes? Why doth my lorde then axe therafter? Wherfore shal there a trespace come vpon Israel?⁴ Neuertheles the kynges worde preuayled agaynst Ioab. And Ioab wente forth, and walked thorow all Israel, and came to Ierusalem,⁵ and delyuered vnto Dauid ye nombre of the people that was tolde. And of all Israel there were a thousande tymes a thousande, and an hundreth thousande men, that drue out the swerde: and of Iuda foure hundreth thousande and seuetye thousande men, which drue out the swerde.⁶ As for Leui and Ben Iamin, he nombred them not amonge these: for the kynges worde was abhominable vnto Ioab.

⁷ But this displeased God righte sore: for he smote Israel.⁸ And Dauid sayde vnto God: I haue synned greuously, that I haue done this. But now take awaye the trespace of thy seruaunt: for I haue done very vnwysely.⁹ And the LORDE spake vnto Gad Dauids Seer, & sayde:¹⁰ Go speake to Dauid, & saye: Thus saieth the LORDE: Thre thinges laye I before the, chose ye one of them, yt I maye do it vnto the.¹¹ And wha Gad came to Dauid, he spake vnto him: Thus sayeth the LORDE: Chose ye¹² ether thre yeare derth, or thre monethes to flye before thine aduersaries, & before the swerde of thine enemies, yt it maye ouertake the: or thre dayes ye swerde of the LORDE, & pestilece in the londe, yt the angell of the LORDE maye destroye in all ye coastes of Israel. Loke now what answere I shal geue vnto him yt sent me.¹³ Dauid sayde vnto Gad: I am in greate trouble: yet wyl I rather fall in to ye hande of the LORDE, for his mercy is exceadynge greate, & I wil not fall in to the handes of men.¹⁴ Then dyd the LORDE cause pestilence to come into Israel, so that there fell of Israel thre score & ten thousande me.¹⁵ And God sent the angell to Ierusale for to destroye it. And euen in the destruccion the LORDE considered, and he repeted of the euell, and sayde vnto the angell ye destroyer: It is ynough, holde now thy hande. The angell of the LORDE stode besyde ye barne of Arnan ye Iebusite.¹⁶ And Dauid lifte vp his eyes, and sawe the angell of ye LORDE stondinge betwene heaue and earth, and a naked swerde in his hande stretched out ouer Ierusalem. Then Dauid and ye Elders beynge clothed with sack cloth, fell vpo their faces.¹⁷ And Dauid sayde vnto God: Am not I he that caused the people to be nombred? I am he that hath synned and done euell: as for these shepe, what haue they done? LORDE my God, let thine hande be agaynst me and agaynst my fathers house, and not agaynst thy people to plage them.

¹⁸ And the angell sayde vnto Gad, that he shulde speake vnto Dauid, that Dauid shulde shulde go vp, & set vp an altare in the barne of Arnan the Iebusite.¹⁹ So Dauid wente vp acordinge to ye worde of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORDE.²⁰ But wha Arnan turned him, and sawe the angell (and his foure sonnes with him) they hyd the selues: for Arnan thro?shed wheate.²¹ Now whan Dauid came to Arnan, Arnan loked, and was aware of Dauid, and wete forth out of the barne, and worshipped Dauid with his face to the grounde.²² And Dauid sayde vnto Arnan: Geue me rowme in the barne, to buylde an altare vnto the LORDE therin: for ye full money shalt thou geue it me, that the plage maye ceasse from the people.²³ But Arnan sayde vnto Dauid: Take it vnto the, and let my lorde the kynge do as pleaseth him. Beholde, that oxe geue I for a burntofferynge, and those vessels to the oxe, and wheate for the meatofferynge, I geue it all.²⁴ Neuertheles the kynge sayde vnto Arnan: Not so, but for ye full money wyl I bye it: for that which is thine wyl not I take for the LORDE, and offre a burntofferynge for naughte.²⁵ So Dauid gaue Arnan for ye rowme, sixe hundreth Sycles of golde in weight.²⁶ And there buylded Dauid an altare vnto ye LORDE, & offred burntofferynges & slaynofferynges. And whan he called vpo the LORDE, he herde him thorow the fyre from heaue vpon ye altare of the burntofferynge.²⁷ And ye LORDE sayde vnto the angell, that he shulde put his swerde in to his sheeth.²⁸ At the same tyme wha Dauid sawe, that the LORDE had herde him vpon the corne floore of Arnan ye Iebusite, he dyd sacrifice there.²⁹ For ye habitacion of ye LORDE which Moses had made in the wyldernes, and the altare of burntofferynges, was at that tyme in the hye place at Gibeon.³⁰ But Dauid coulde not go thither to seke God before it, for he feared the swerde of the LORDES angell.