2 Samuel 24
24
David’s Unauthorized Census
1Now the anger of Adonai again flared up against Israel, so He incited David against them saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
2The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know the sum of the people.”
3But Joab said to the king, “May Adonai your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king desire such a thing?”
4Nevertheless, the king’s command to Joab and the army generals remained firm. So Joab and the army generals went out from the king’s presence to number the people of Israel.
5They crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and toward Jazer.
6Then they went to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi. Then they came to Dan-jaan and round about to Sidon,
7and came to the stronghold of Tyre, to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to the south of Judah, to Beersheba.
8So when they had gone throughout all the land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days.
9Joab reported the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: there were in Israel 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword and the men of Judah were 500,000 men.
10But David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David prayed to Adonai, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done! But now, Adonai, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
11When David rose up in the morning, the word of Adonai came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying:
12“Go and speak to David, thus says Adonai: ‘Three things I am proposing to you—choose one of them and I will bring it upon you.’”
13So Gad came to David and told him, saying to him, “Shall seven years of famine come on you in your land? Or will you flee from your adversary for three months while he is pursuing you? Or shall there be three days of pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should return to Him who sent me.”
14Then David said to Gad, “I am in a great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of Adonai, for His mercies are great, and let me not fall into the hand of man.”
15So Adonai sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, so that 70,000 men of the people died from Dan to Beersheba.
16When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Adonai relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Now withdraw your hand.” The angel of Adonai was then by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17When David saw the angel that was striking down the people, he spoke to Adonai saying, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong! But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”
18On that day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up, set up an altar to Adonai on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19So David went up according to the word of Gad, as Adonai had commanded.
20Now when Araunah looked down and saw the king and his courtiers crossing over toward him, Araunah went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
21Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to Adonai, so that the plague may be held back from the people.”
22Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good in his eyes. Look here, the oxen for the burnt offering, as well as the threshing sledges and the ox yokes for the wood.
23All this Araunah gives to the king.” Araunah said further to the king, “May Adonai your God accept you.”
24But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you at a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to Adonai my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver.
25Then David built there an altar to Adonai, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. So Adonai was moved by prayer of entreaty for the land, and restrained the plague from Israel.
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2 Samuel 24: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
2 Samuel 24
24
David’s Census; the Plague. 1The Lord’s anger against Israel flared again,#1 Chr 21:1–27. and he incited David against them: “Go, take a census of Israel and Judah.” 2The king therefore said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him, “Tour all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the people, that I may know their number.” 3But Joab replied to the king: “May the Lord your God increase the number of people a hundredfold for my lord the king to see it with his own eyes. But why does it please my lord to do a thing of this kind?” 4However, the king’s command prevailed over Joab and the leaders of the army, so they left the king’s presence in order to register the people of Israel. 5Crossing the Jordan, they began near Aroer, south of the city in the wadi, and turned in the direction of Gad toward Jazer. 6They continued on to Gilead and to the district below Mount Hermon. Then they proceeded to Dan; from there they turned toward Sidon, 7going to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and ending up in the Negeb of Judah, at Beer-sheba. 8Thus they toured the whole land, reaching Jerusalem again after nine months and twenty days. 9Joab then reported the census figures to the king: of men capable of wielding a sword, there were in Israel eight hundred thousand, and in Judah five hundred thousand.
10Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people. David said to the Lord: “I have sinned grievously in what I have done.#1 Sm 24:6; 1 Chr 21:7–8. Take away, Lord, your servant’s guilt, for I have acted very foolishly.”#The narrative supposes that since the people belonged to the Lord rather than to the king, only the Lord should know their exact number. Further, since such an exact numbering of the people would make it possible for the king to exercise centralized power, imposing taxation, conscription, and expropriation upon Israel, the story shares the view of monarchy found in 1 Sm 8:4–18. See also Nm 3:44–51, where census taking requires an apotropaic offering. 11When David rose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying: 12Go, tell David: Thus says the Lord: I am offering you three options; choose one of them, and I will give you that. 13Gad then went to David to inform him. He asked: “Should three years of famine come upon your land; or three months of fleeing from your enemy while he pursues you; or is it to be three days of plague in your land? Now consider well: what answer am I to give to him who sent me?”#2 Sm 21:1. 14David answered Gad: “I am greatly distressed. But let us fall into the hand of God, whose mercy is great, rather than into human hands.” 15Thus David chose the plague. At the time of the wheat harvest it broke out among the people. The Lord sent plague over Israel from morning until the time appointed, and from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand of the people died. 16But when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord changed his mind about the calamity, and said to the angel causing the destruction among the people: Enough now! Stay your hand.#Gn 6:6; Ex 32:14; 1 Chr 21:15; Jon 3:10. The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.#Ex 12:23; 2 Kgs 19:35. 17When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the Lord: “It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Strike me and my father’s family!”
David Offers Sacrifices. 18On the same day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go and set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19According to Gad’s word, David went up as the Lord had commanded. 20Now Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming toward him while he was threshing wheat. So he went out and bowed down before the king, his face to the ground. 21Then Araunah asked, “Why does my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.” 22#1 Sm 6:14; 1 Kgs 19:21. But Araunah said to David: “Let my lord the king take it and offer up what is good in his sight. See, here are the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing sledges and the yokes of oxen for wood. 23All this does Araunah give to the king.” Araunah then said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept your offering.” 24The king, however, replied to Araunah, “No, I will buy it from you at the proper price, for I cannot sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty silver shekels. 25Then David built an altar to the Lord there, and sacrificed burnt offerings and communion offerings. The Lord granted relief to the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
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