Joab replied, &#8220;May the <sc>Lordsc> make his army<n id="1" /> a hundred times larger! My master, O king, do not all of them serve my master? Why does my master want to do this? Why bring judgment on Israel?&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">David said to God, &#8220;I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.&#8221;

David said to Gad, &#8220;I am very upset! I prefer to be attacked by the <sc>Lordsc>, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!&#8221;<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">God sent an angel<n id="1" /> to ravage<n id="2" /> Jerusalem. As he was doing so,<n id="3" /> the <sc>Lordsc> watched<n id="4" /> and relented from<n id="5" /> his judgment.<n id="6" /> He told the angel who was destroying, &#8220;That&#8217;s enough!<n id="7" /> Stop now!&#8221;<n id="8" />p> <p class="bodytext">Now the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s angel was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan<n id="9" /> the Jebusite.

David said to God, &#8220;Was I not the one who decided to number the army? I am the one who sinned and committed this awful deed!<n id="1" /> As for these sheep &#8211; what have they done? O <sc>Lordsc> my God, attack me and my family,<n id="2" /> but remove the plague from your people!&#8221;<n id="3" />p>

David said to Ornan, &#8220;Sell me the threshing floor<n id="1" /> so I can build<n id="2" /> on it an altar for the <sc>Lordsc> &#8211; I&#8217;ll pay top price<n id="3" /> &#8211; so that the plague may be removed<n id="4" /> from the people.&#8221;

Ornan told David, &#8220;You can have it!<n id="1" /> My master, the king, may do what he wants.<n id="2" /> Look, I am giving you the oxen for burnt sacrifices, the threshing sledges for wood, and the wheat for an offering. I give it all to you.&#8221;

King David replied to Ornan, &#8220;No, I insist on buying it for top price.<n id="1" /> I will not offer to the <sc>Lordsc> what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice<n id="2" /> that cost me nothing.<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">David said, &#8220;My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man,<n id="1" /> and the temple to be built for the <sc>Lordsc> must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations.<n id="2" /> Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.&#8221; So David made extensive preparations before he died.p>

<p class="bodytext">King David rose to his feet and said: &#8220;Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I wanted to build a temple where the ark of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s covenant could be placed as a footstool for our God.<n id="1" /> I have made the preparations for building it.

<p class="bodytext">David said to his son Solomon: &#8220;Be strong and brave! Do it! Don&#8217;t be afraid and don&#8217;t panic!<n id="1" /> For the <sc>Lordsc> God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or abandon you before all the work for the service of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple is finished.

<t /><p class="bodytext">King David said to the entire assembly: &#8220;My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is just an inexperienced young man,<n id="1" /> and the task is great, for this palace is not for man, but for the <sc>Lordsc> God.

<p class="bodytext">David told the entire assembly: &#8220;Praise the <sc>Lordsc> your God!&#8221; So the entire assembly praised the <sc>Lordsc> God of their ancestors; they bowed down and stretched out flat on the ground before the <sc>Lordsc> and the king.p>

Huram also said, &#8220;Worthy of praise is the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the <sc>Lordsc>, as well as a royal palace for himself.<n id="1" />

He asked them, &#8220;How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, &#8216;Lessen the demands your father placed on us&#8217;?&#8221;<n id="1" />

<p class="bodytext">Shemaiah the prophet visited Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were assembled in Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, &#8220;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says: &#8216;You have rejected me, so I have rejected you and will hand you over to Shishak.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="1" />

He said to the people of Judah:<n id="1" /> &#8220;Let&#8217;s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates.<n id="2" /> The land remains ours because we have followed<n id="3" /> the <sc>Lordsc> our God and he has made us secure on all sides.&#8221;<n id="4" /> So they built the cities<n id="5" /> and prospered.p>

He met<n id="1" /> Asa and told him, &#8220;Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The <sc>Lordsc> is with you when you are loyal to him.<n id="2" /> If you seek him, he will respond to you,<n id="3" /> but if you reject him, he will reject you.

<p class="bodytext">At that time Hanani the prophet<n id="1" /> visited King Asa of Judah and said to him: &#8220;Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the <sc>Lordsc> your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.

So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, &#8220;Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?&#8221;<n id="1" /> They said, &#8220;Attack! God<n id="2" /> will hand it over to the king.&#8221;