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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2 Samuel 24: FBV
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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
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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