Now Peter and John were going up into the  ¹temple at the  ²ninth-hour prayer;

And a certain man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried there, whom they had laid day by day at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask alms from those entering into the temple.

And he, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, began to ask to receive alms.

And Peter, gazing at him with John, said, Look at us!

And he turned his attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said,  ¹Silver and gold I do not possess, but what I have, this I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the  ²Nazarene  ³rise up and walk.

And he seized him by the right hand and raised him up; and instantly his feet and ankles were made strong.

And leaping up and about, he stood and began to walk, and he entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God,

And they recognized him, that he was the one who had been sitting for alms at the temple's Beautiful Gate; and they were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.

And while he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people ran together toward them at the portico called Solomon's, greatly amazed.

And when Peter saw this, he replied to the people,  ¹Men of Israel, why are you marveling at this? Or why are you gazing at us, as though by our own power or godliness we have made him walk?

The  ¹God of Abraham and  ²Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has  ³glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

But you denied the holy and righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be granted to you;

And the  ¹Author of life you killed, whom  ²God has raised from the dead, of  ³which we are witnesses.

And  ¹upon faith in His name, His  ²name has made this man strong, whom you behold and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this wholeness of health before you all.

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as also your rulers did;

But the things which God  ¹announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

Repent therefore and turn, that your sins may be wiped away,

So that seasons of  ¹refreshing may come from the presence of the  ²Lord and that He may send the Christ, who has been previously appointed for you, Jesus,

Whom heaven must indeed receive until the  ¹times of the restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets  ²from of old.

Moses said, "A  ¹Prophet will the Lord your God raise up unto you from your brothers, like me; Him shall you hear in whatever things He speaks to you.

And it shall be that every soul who does not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.”

And also all the prophets, from Samuel and those in succession after him, as many as spoke, also announced these days.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God covenanted with your fathers, saying to Abraham, “And in your  ¹seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

To you first, God, having raised up His Servant, has sent  ¹Him to bless you in turning each of you away from your wicked deeds.

And after this Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place.

And David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun to comfort him.

But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Do you really think that David is honoring your father just because he sent to you some men to comfort you? Have not his servants come to you in order to search out and to overthrow and to spy on the land?

So Hanun took David's servants and shaved them and cut away half their garments at the hips, and he sent them away.

Now when they went and told David about the men, he sent some to meet them, for the men were very ashamed. And the king said, Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, then return.

And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia and from the Syrians of Maacah and from Zobah.

So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and camped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered together from their cities and came to the battle.

And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of mighty men.

And the children of Ammon went forth and set the battle in array at the entrance of the city, but the kings who had come were alone in the field.

Now when Joab saw that there were battle lines against him before and behind, he chose some of the choice men in Israel and set them in array against the Syrians.

And the rest of the people he put under the charge of Abishai his brother, and they arrayed themselves against the children of Ammon.

And he said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; and if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you.

Be strong and let us be bold for the sake of our people and for the sake of the cities of our God, and may Jehovah do what seems good in His sight.

So Joab and the people who were with him approached the battle against the Syrians, and  ¹the Syrians fled before him.

And the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, and they also fled from before Abishai his brother and entered the city. And Joab entered Jerusalem.

Now when the Syrians saw that they had been routed before Israel, they sent messengers and brought forth the Syrians who were beyond the  ¹River with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer before them.

And it was told David, and he gathered all Israel together and passed over the Jordan and came to them and set his men in array against them. When David set his men in array to meet the Syrians in battle, they fought with him.

And the Syrians fled before Israel. And David slew seven thousand charioteers of the Syrians and forty thousand footmen, and he put Shophach the captain of the army to death.

And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed before Israel, they made peace with David and served him. So the Syrians were not willing to help the children of Ammon anymore.

Then at the time of the turn of the year, at the time when kings go forth to battle, Joab led the army and devastated the land of the children of Ammon. And he went and besieged Rabbah while David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab struck Rabbah and overthrew it.

And David took the crown of their king from off his head and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was put upon David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city, a very great amount.

And he brought out the people who were in it and hewed them with saws and iron cutting tools and axes, and thus did David do to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

Then after this a war arose with the Philistines at Gezer; and Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, one of the children of the giants; and they were subdued.

And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

And again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all; and he also had been born to the giant.

And he defied Israel; and Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, slew him.

These had been born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David and by the hands of his servants.

And Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

And David said to Joab and to the captains of the people, Go and count Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, and bring the results to me, that I may know their number.

And Joab said, May Jehovah add to His people a hundred times as many as they are. But, O my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? Why does my lord request this? Why should he become a cause of guilt to Israel?

Nevertheless the king's word prevailed over Joab, and Joab went forth and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem.

And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. And all Israel were one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah was four hundred seventy thousand men who drew the sword.

But he did not number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king's word was abhorrent to Joab.

And this matter displeased God, and He struck Israel.

And David said to God, I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing; but now put away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.

And Jehovah spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying,

Go and speak to David, saying, Thus says Jehovah, I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, that I may do it to you.

So Gad went to David and said to him, Thus says Jehovah, Take for yourself

Either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your adversaries, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or three days of the sword of Jehovah, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying throughout all the territory of Israel. And now see what word I should return to Him who sent me.

And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait; let me fall into the hand of Jehovah, for His compassions are very great; and do not let me fall into the hand of man.

So Jehovah sent a pestilence in Israel, and seventy thousand people of Israel fell.

And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was destroying it, Jehovah saw and repented of the harm. And He said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now hold back your hand. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of Jehovah standing between the earth and the heavens, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces.

And David said to God, Was it not I who ordered the numbering of the people? And it is I who have sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? O Jehovah my God, let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against the house of my father, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.

And the angel of Jehovah commanded Gad to tell David that David should go up and raise up an altar to Jehovah on the  ¹threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David went up at Gad's word, which he spoke in the name of Jehovah.

And Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves; and Ornan was threshing wheat.

And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David. And he went forth from the threshing floor and bowed down to David with his face to the ground.

And David said to Ornan, Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to Jehovah. For the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

And Ornan said to David, Take it; and may my lord the king do whatever seems good in his sight. Look, I have given the oxen for the burnt offerings and the threshing instruments for the wood and the wheat for the meal offering—all this I give.

But King David said to Ornan, No; but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for Jehovah and offer up burnt offerings that cost me nothing.

So David gave to Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the site.

And there David built an altar to Jehovah, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called on Jehovah, and He answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.

And Jehovah commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

At that time, when David saw that Jehovah had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.

And the tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering at that time were in the high place at Gibeon.

And David was not able to go before it to inquire of God because he was terrified of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.