2 Samuel 24
24
David Displeases the Lord by Taking a Census
1 The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.”#sn The parallel text in 1 Chr 21:1 says, “An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.” The Samuel version gives an underlying theological perspective, while the Chronicler simply describes what happened from a human perspective. The adversary in 1 Chr 21:1 is likely a human enemy, probably a nearby nation whose hostility against Israel pressured David into numbering the people so he could assess his military strength. See the note at 1 Chr 21:1. 2 The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”
3 Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?”
4 But the king’s edict stood, despite the objections of#tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than.” Joab and the leaders of the army. So Joab and the leaders of the army left the king’s presence in order to muster the Israelite army.
5 They crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, on the south side of the city, at#tn Heb “in the middle of.” the wadi of Gad, near Jazer. 6 Then they went on to Gilead and to the region of Tahtim Hodshi, coming to Dan Jaan and on around to Sidon.#map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3. 7 Then they went to the fortress of Tyre#map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3. and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beer Sheba. 8 They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem.#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
9 Joab reported the number of warriors#tn Heb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.” to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.
10 David felt guilty#tn Heb “and the heart of David struck him.” after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
11 When David got up the next morning, the Lord had already spoken#tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came.” to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: 12 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.’”
13 Gad went to David and told him, “Shall seven#tc The LXX has here “three” rather than “seven,” and is followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT. See 1 Chr 21:12. years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide#tn Heb “now know and see.” what I should tell the one who sent me.” 14 David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!”#tn Heb “There is great distress to me. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for great is his mercy, but into the hand of man let me not fall.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba. 16 When the angel#tn Heb “messenger.” extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment.#tn Heb “concerning the calamity.” He told the angel who was killing the people, “That’s enough! Stop now!”#tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.” (Now the Lord’s angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)
17 When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, “Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep – what have they done? Attack me and my family.”#tn Heb “let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.”
David Acquires a Threshing Floor and Constructs an Altar There
18 So Gad went to David that day and told him, “Go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do, according to the Lord’s instructions.
20 When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants approaching him, he#tn Heb “Araunah.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons. went out and bowed to the king with his face#tn Heb “nostrils.” to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people.” 22 Araunah told David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wishes#tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.” and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges#sn Threshing sledges were heavy boards used in ancient times for loosening grain from husks. On the bottom sides of these boards sharp stones were embedded, and the boards were then dragged across the grain on a threshing floor by an ox or donkey. and harnesses#tn Heb “the equipment of the oxen.” for wood. 23 I, the servant of my lord#tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation reads עֶבֶד אֲדֹנָי (’eved ’adoni, “the servant of my lord”) rather than the MT’s אֲרַוְנָה (’Aravnah). In normal court etiquette a subject would not use his own name in this way, but would more likely refer to himself in the third person. The MT probably first sustained loss of עֶבֶד (’eved, “servant”), leading to confusion of the word for “my lord” with the name of the Jebusite referred to here. the king, give it all to the king!” Araunah also told the king, “May the Lord your God show you favor!” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you! I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver.#tn Heb “fifty shekels of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight. 25 Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.
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2 Samuel 24
24
David Decides to Count His Army
1The Lord was angry with Israel again. He caused David to turn against the Israelites. He told David, “Go count the people of Israel and Judah.”
2King David said to Joab, the captain of the army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba,#24:2 Dan to Beersheba This means the whole nation of Israel, north and south. Dan was a town in the northern part of Israel, and Beersheba was in the southern part of Judah. Also in verse 15. and count the people. Then I will know how many people there are.”
3But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God give you 100 times as many people, no matter how many there are! And may your eyes see this thing happen. But why do you want to do this?”
4King David strongly commanded Joab and the other captains of the army to count the people. So they went out from the king to count the people of Israel. 5After they crossed over the Jordan River, they made their camp in Aroer on the right side of the city. (The city is in the middle of the valley of Gad, on the way to Jazer.)
6Then they went east to Gilead, all the way to Tahtim Hodshi. Then they went north to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon. 7They went to the fort of Tyre. They went to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites. Then they went south to Beersheba in the southern part of Judah. 8It took them nine months and 20 days for them to go through the country. After nine months and 20 days they came back to Jerusalem.
9Joab gave the list of the people to the king. There were 800,000 men in Israel who could use the sword. And there were 500,000 men in Judah.
The Lord Punishes David
10David felt ashamed after he had counted the people and said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I did! Lord, I beg you, forgive me for my sin. I have been very foolish.”
11When David got up in the morning, the Lord gave this message to Gad, David’s seer: 12“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: There are three ways you can be punished. Choose the one you want.’”
13So Gad went to David and said to him, “Choose one of these three: seven#24:13 seven 1 Chron. 21:12 and the ancient Greek version have “three.” years of famine for you and your country, being chased by your enemies for three months, or three days of disease in your country. Think about it, and decide which one you want. I must give your answer to the one who sent me.”
14David said to Gad, “This is a terrible situation to be in. But it would be better to be punished by the Lord than by anyone else, because he is very merciful.”
15So the Lord sent a disease against Israel. It began in the morning and continued until the chosen time to stop. From Dan to Beersheba 70,000 people died. 16The angel raised his arm over Jerusalem and was ready to destroy it, but the Lord felt very sorry about the bad things that had happened. He said to the angel who destroyed the people, “That’s enough! Put down your arm.” The Lord’s angel was by the threshing floor of Araunah#24:16 Araunah Also spelled “Ornan.” Also in verses 18, 22, 24. the Jebusite.#24:16 Jebusite A person who lived in Jerusalem before the Israelites took the city. “Jebus” was the old name for Jerusalem.
David Buys Araunah’s Threshing Floor
17When he saw the angel who killed the people, David spoke to the Lord. David said, “I sinned! I did wrong! And these people only did what I told them—they only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Please let your punishment be against me and my father’s family.”
18That day Gad came to David and said, “Go and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19So David did what Gad told him to. David did what the Lord wanted and went to see Araunah. 20Araunah looked and saw King David and his officers coming to him. Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground. 21He said, “Why has my lord and king come to me?”
David answered, “I came to buy the threshing floor from you. Then I can build an altar to the Lord. Then the disease will stop.”
22Araunah said to David, “My lord and king, you can take anything you want for a sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the burnt offering, and the threshing boards and the yokes for the wood. 23O King, I give everything to you!” Araunah also said to the king, “May the Lord your God be pleased with you.”
24But the king said to Araunah, “No! I must pay you for everything. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver. 25Then David built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
The Lord answered his prayer for the country. He stopped the disease in Israel.
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