2 Samuel 24:21
ESV
And Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be averted from the people."
NIV
Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" "To buy your threshing floor," David answered, "so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped."
NASB
Then 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And David said, 'To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.'
CSB
Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David replied, "To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord, so the plague on the people may be halted."
NLT
Why have you come, my lord the king?' Araunah asked. David replied, 'I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.'
KJV
And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
NKJV
Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
What does 2 Samuel 24:21 mean?
We don't know how much Araunah knows about the situation. About ten months before, King David had ordered his generals to take a census of the fighting men of Israel. They counted from Dan in the far north to Beersheba at the edge of the Negev. When they returned with the count, David realized his census was a horrible sin (2 Samuel 24:1–10).Although David repented, God still chose to judge the nation because of his sin. He sent an angel to sweep across the country, from Dan to Beersheba, with a terrible plague that killed thousands. The angel has stopped on the hill outside of Jerusalem, waiting (2 Samuel 24:15–16).
Araunah, also called Ornan, owns the threshing floor on the mountain top. He and his sons see the angel, and his sons flee in fear. If they know about the plague, their reaction is more than reasonable. Now Araunah sees a sight almost as strange: King David and the elders of Jerusalem, dressed in sackcloth, climbing the mountain toward the angel, and him (2 Samuel 24:18–20; 1 Chronicles 21:20).
Although he is a Jebusite, of the tribe of Canaanites who ruled Jerusalem before David conquered it, Araunah recognizes David as his master and king. He must be confused when David says he needs to buy the threshing floor to stop the plague, but Araunah quickly agrees. He even tries to throw in the yoke for firewood and his oxen and grain for the sacrifice. But David won't sacrifice what he hasn't paid for and buys it all (2 Samuel 24::22–24; 1 Chronicles 21:23–24).
Fortunately, God accepts David's sacrifice. Jerusalem—and Araunah's sons—are safe (1 Samuel 24:25).
