2 Samuel 24
24
The Census Taken
1Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and #24:1 See 1 Chr 21:1. As in the case of Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Cor 12:7; cf 1 Cor 5:5), God sometimes accomplishes His purposes by allowing Satan to inflict injury or cause trouble.He incited David against them to say, “Go, #24:1 Ordinarily taking a census would have been a routine procedure for a nation as a way of assessing taxes or conscripting and assigning men to an army. But in Israel none of this was necessary unless it was commanded by God, and David’s action was the product of ego and an uncharacteristic shift of trust and dependence from God to human resources (as Joab suspected, v 3). To his credit, David eventually realized this and came to God in repentance.count [the people of] Israel and Judah.” 2So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], and conduct a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.” 3But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as there are, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king #24:3 Lit delight in.want to do this thing?” 4Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel. 5They crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the south side of the city which is in the middle of the river valley [of the Arnon] toward Gad, and on toward Jazer. 6Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon, 7and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to Beersheba. 8So when they had gone about through all the land [taking the census], they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9And Joab gave the sum of the census of the people to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.
10But David’s heart (conscience) troubled him after he had counted the people. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the sin of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 11When David got up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12“Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I am giving you three choices; select one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.” ’ ” 13So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your enemies as they pursue you? Or shall there be three days of pestilence (plague) in your land? Now consider this and decide what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” 14Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hands of man.”
Pestilence Sent
15So the Lord sent a pestilence (plague) [lasting three days] upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16When the [avenging] angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the disaster and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he spoke to the Lord and said, “Behold, I [alone] am the one who has sinned and done wrong; but these sheep (people of Israel), what have they done [to deserve this]? Please let Your hand be [only] against me and my father’s house (family).”
David Builds an Altar
18Then Gad [the prophet] came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite [where you saw the angel].” 19So David went up according to Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded. 20Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and he went out and bowed before the king with his face toward the ground. 21Araunah 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, so that the plague may be held back from the people.” 22Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for the burnt offering, and threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23All of this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God be favorable to you.” 24But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David purchased the #24:24 Later Solomon would build his temple on this site.threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25David built an altar to the Lord there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was moved [to compassion] by [David’s] prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.
Currently Selected:
2 Samuel 24: AMP
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Amplified® Bible
Copyright © 2015 by
The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
All rights reserved. http://www.lockman.org
2 Samuel 24
24
David’s Sin—He Takes a Census
(1 Chronicles 21:1–30)
1The Lord became angry with Israel again, so he provoked David to turn against Israel. He said, “Go, count Israel and Judah.”
2King David said to Joab, the commander of the army who was with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and count the people. That way I will know how many there are.”
3Joab responded to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the people a hundred times over, and may Your Majesty ⌞live⌟ to see it. But why does Your Majesty wish to do this?”
4However, the king overruled Joab and the commanders of the army. So they left the king ⌞in order⌟ to count the people of Israel. 5They crossed the Jordan River and camped at Aroer, south of the city in the middle of the valley. Then they went to Gad and to Jazer. 6They went to Gilead and to Tahtim Hodshi and then to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon. 7They went to the fortified city of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah. 8When they had covered the whole country, they came to Jerusalem after 9 months and 20 days. 9Joab reported the census figures to the king: In Israel there were 800,000 able-bodied men who could serve in the army, and in Judah there were 500,000.
10After David counted the people, his conscience troubled him. David said to the Lord, “I have committed a terrible sin by what I have done. Lord, please forgive me because I have acted very foolishly.”
11When David got up in the morning, the Lord spoke his word to the prophet Gad, David’s seer.#24:11 A seer is a prophet. 12“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m offering you three choices. Choose the one you want me to do to you.’ ”
13When Gad came to David, he told David this and asked, “Should seven years of famine come to you and your land, or three months during which you flee from your enemies as they pursue you, or should there be a three-day plague in your land? Think it over, and decide what answer I should give the one who sent me.”
14“I’m in a desperate situation,” David told Gad. “Please let us fall into the Lord’s hands because he is very merciful. But don’t let me fall into human hands.”
15So the Lord sent a plague among the Israelites from that morning until the time he had chosen. Of the people from Dan to Beersheba, 70,000 died. 16But when the Messenger stretched out his arm to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord changed his mind about the disaster. “Enough!” he said to the Messenger who was destroying the people. “Put down your weapon.” The Messenger of the Lord was at the threshing floor #24:16 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks. of Araunah the Jebusite.
17When David saw the Messenger who had been killing the people, he said to the Lord, “I’ve sinned. I’ve done wrong. What have these sheep done? Please let your punishment be against me and against my father’s family.”
18That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go, set up an altar for the Lord at Araunah the Jebusite’s threshing floor.”
19David went as Gad had told him and as the Lord had commanded him. 20When Araunah looked down and saw the king and his men coming toward him, he went out and bowed down with his face touching the ground in front of the king. 21“Why has Your Majesty come to me?” Araunah asked.
David answered, “To buy the threshing floor from you and to build an altar for the Lord. Then the plague on the people will stop.”
22Araunah said to David, “Take it, Your Majesty, and offer whatever you think is right. There are oxen for the burnt offering, and there are threshers and oxen yokes #24:22 A thresher is a device used to separate grain from its husks. A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts. for firewood.” 23All this Araunah gave to the king and said, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
24“No!” the king said to Araunah. “I must buy it from you at a ⌞fair⌟ price. I won’t offer the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 1¼ pounds of silver. 25David built an altar for the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. So the Lord heard the prayers for the country, and the plague on Israel stopped.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.