2 Samuel 24
24
David Counts His Army
1The Lord was angry with Israel again. He caused David to turn against the Israelites. David said, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”
2King David spoke to Joab, the commander of the army. David said, “Go through all the tribes of Israel. Go from Dan to Beersheba# Dan was the city farthest north in Israel. Beersheba was the city farthest south. So this means all the people of Israel. and count the people. Then I will know how many there are.”
3But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God give you 100 times more people. And may you live to see this happen. But why do you want to do this?”
4But the king very strongly commanded Joab and the commanders of the army. So they left the king to count the people of Israel.
5After crossing the Jordan River, they camped near Aroer. They camped on the south side of the city in the ravine. They went through Gad and on to Jazer. 6Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim Hodshi. Next they went to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon. 7They went to the strong, walled city of Tyre. They also went to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went to southern Judah, to Beersheba. 8After 9 months and 20 days, they had gone through all the land. Then 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.
10David felt ashamed after he had counted the people. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done! Lord, I beg you, forgive my sin! I have been very foolish.”
11Before David got up in the morning, the Lord spoke his word to Gad. He was a prophet and David’s seer. 12The Lord told Gad, “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I offer you three choices. Choose one for me to do to you.’”
13Gad went to David and told him. Gad said, “Choose one of these three things. Should three years of hunger come to you and your land? Or should your enemies chase you for three months? Or should there be three days of disease in your country? Think about it. Then decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me.”
14David said to Gad, “I am really in trouble. But the Lord is very merciful. So let the Lord punish us. Don’t let my punishment come from people!”
15So the Lord sent disease on Israel. It began in the morning. And it continued until the chosen time to stop. From Dan to Beersheba 70,000 people died. 16The angel raised his arm toward Jerusalem to destroy it also. But the Lord felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “That’s enough! Put down your arm!” At this time the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17David saw the angel that killed the people. Then he said to the Lord, “I’ve sinned! I’ve done wrong! But these people 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. Gad told him, “Go and build an altar to the Lord. Build it on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19So David did what Gad told him to do. He obeyed the Lord’s command and went to see Araunah.
20Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming to him. So he went out and bowed facedown on the ground. 21He said, “Why has my master the king come to me?”
David answered, “To buy the threshing floor from you. I want to build an altar to the Lord. Then the disease will stop.”
22Araunah said to David, “My master and king, you may take anything you want for a sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the whole burnt offering. Here are the threshing boards and the yokes for the wood! 23My king, I give everything to you!” Araunah also said to the king, “May the Lord your God be pleased with you!”
24But the king answered Araunah, “No. I will pay you for the land. I won’t offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings which cost me nothing!”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for one and one-fourth pounds of silver. 25Then he built an altar to the Lord there. And he offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer for the country. And the disease in Israel stopped.
2 Samuel 3
2 Samuel 5
2 Samuel 6
2 Samuel 11
2 Samuel 12
2 Samuel 13
2 Samuel 15
2 Samuel 16
2 Samuel 17
2 Samuel 19
2 Samuel 21
2 Samuel 23
2 Samuel 24
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2 Samuel 24: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
2 Samuel 24
24
David Takes a Census
1Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him.
2So the king said to Joab and the commanders#24:2 As in Greek version (see also 24:4 and 1 Chr 21:2); Hebrew reads Joab the commander. of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.”
3But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?”
4But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel. 5First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the town in the valley, in the direction of Gad. Then they went on to Jazer, 6then to Gilead in the land of Tahtim-hodshi#24:6 Greek version reads to Gilead and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites. and to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon. 7Then they came to the fortress of Tyre, and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went south to Judah#24:7 Or they went to the Negev of Judah. as far as Beersheba.
8Having gone through the entire land for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem. 9Joab reported the number of people to the king. There were 800,000 capable warriors in Israel who could handle a sword, and 500,000 in Judah.
Judgment for David’s Sin
10But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.”
11The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: 12“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”
13So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three#24:13 As in Greek version (see also 1 Chr 21:12); Hebrew reads seven. years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”
14“I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”
15So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days.#24:15 Hebrew for the designated time. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. 16But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”
David Builds an Altar
18That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him. 20When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21“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.”
22“Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. 23I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice.”
24But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver#24:24 Hebrew 50 shekels of silver, about 20 ounces or 570 grams in weight. for the threshing floor and the oxen.
25David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
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