2 Samuel 24
24
2 Samuel 24
1¶ And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
2For the king said to Joab, the captain of the host, who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel from Dan unto Beersheba and number the people that I may know the number of the people.
3And Joab replied unto the king, Now the Lord thy God add unto the people one hundredfold to however many there are and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?
4Notwithstanding, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
5And passing the Jordan, they pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lies in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer.
6After that they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtimhodshi, and they came to Danjaan and about to Zidon.
7Then they came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out towards the Negev from Judah, even to Beersheba.
8So when they had gone through all the land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king, and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
10¶ And David’s heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in having done this; but now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy slave, for I have done very foolishly.
11And in the morning when David had risen, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
12Go and say unto David, Thus hath the Lord said, I offer thee three things: choose one of them, which I will do unto thee.
13So Gad came to David and told him and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? Or wilt thou flee three months before thy enemies while they pursue thee? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? Now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
14Then David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait; let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great, and let me not fall into the hand of man.
15So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the time appointed, and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.
16And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord himself repented of that evil and said to the angel that was destroying the people, It is enough; stay now thy hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingfloor of Araunah, the Jebusite.
17And David spoke unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people and said, I have sinned, I committed the iniquity, but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me and against my father’s house.
18¶ And Gad came that day to David and said unto him, Go up, erect an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah, the Jebusite.
19And David went up, according to the word of Gad, as the Lord had commanded him.
20And Araunah looked and saw the king and his slaves coming on toward him, and Araunah went out and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
21And Araunah said, Why is my lord the king come to his slave? And David answered, To buy this threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good unto him; behold, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood;
23all these things does king Araunah give unto the king. Then Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.
24And the king said unto Araunah, No, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which costs me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25And David built there an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
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2 Samuel 24: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
2 Samuel 24
24
1The Lord#24:1. In 1 Chronicles 21:1 Satan is the one identified as provoking David to conduct the census. Here as elsewhere in Scripture it may be that since God is all-powerful he is credited with responsibility even for actions he does not specifically commit. was angry with Israel, and he provoked David against them, saying, “go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” 2So David told Joab, the army commander, “Go and count the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba, so I can have a total number.”
3But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord multiply his people a hundred times over, Your Majesty, and may you live to see it! But why does Your Majesty want to do this?”
4But the king was adamant so Joab and the army commanders left the king and went to census the people#24:4. David is of course primarily interested in the number of men he can call up to serve in his army. of Israel.
5They crossed the Jordan and camped on the south side of the town of Aroer, in the middle of the valley, and then continued towards Gad and Jazer. 6Then they went on to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; then continued towards Dan, and from Dan around to Sidon. 7After this they went to the fortress of Tyre, and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. They ended up in the Negev of Judah at Beersheba. 8After traveling throughout the whole country for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem. 9Joab reported to the king the number of people that had been counted. In Israel there were 800,000 fighting men who could use the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.
10Afterwards, David felt really bad for ordering the census. He said to God, “I have committed a terrible sin by doing this. Please take away the guilt of your servant, for I have been very stupid.”
11When David got up in the morning, the Lord had sent a message to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, 12“Go and tell David that this is what the Lord says: ‘I'm giving you three options. Choose one of them, and that's what I'll do to you.’”
13So Gad went and told David, “You can choose three#24:13. Septuagint reading. Hebrew reads “seven years,” as does 1 Chronicles 21:12. years of famine in your land, or three months of running from your enemies while they chase you, or three days of plague in your land. So think about it and decide how I should reply to the One who sent me.”
14David replied to Gad, “This is an awful situation for me! Please, let the Lord decide my punishment,#24:14. “Let the Lord decide my punishment”: literally, “let me fall into the hands of the Lord.” Also at the end of the verse, “Do not let me fall into human hands.” for he is merciful. Don't let me be punished by people.”
15So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the time designated, and seventy thousand people died from Dan to Beersheba. 16But just as the angel was getting ready to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from causing such a disaster and told the destroying angel, “That's enough. You can stop now.” Right then the angel of the Lord was standing beside the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I'm the one who has sinned; I'm the one who has done wrong. These people are just sheep. What have they done? Punish me and my family instead.”
18On that day Gad went to David and told him, “Go and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19So David went and did what the Lord had ordered, as Gad had told him. 20When Araunah looked up, he saw the king and his officials approaching. So he went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21“Why has Your Majesty come to see me, your servant?” Araunah asked.
“To buy your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord in order that the plague on the people may be stopped.” David replied.
22“Take it, and Your Majesty can use it to make offerings as you think best,” Araunah told David. “Here are the oxen for burnt offerings, and here are the threshing boards and the yokes for the oxen for firewood. 23Your Majesty, I, Araunah, give it all to the king.” Araunah concluded by saying, “May the Lord your God respond positively#24:23. “Respond positively”: or, “accept.” to you.”
24“No, I insist on paying you for it,” the king replied. “I won't present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that didn't cost me anything.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25David built an altar to the Lord there, and presented burnt offerings and friendship offerings. The Lord answered his prayer for the country, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com