2 Samuel 24
24
David’s census
1The LORD burned with anger against Israel again, and he incited David against them: Go and count the people of Israel and Judah.
2So the king said to Joab and the military commanders#24.2 LXX and 2 Sam 24:4; MT commander who were with him, “Go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people so I know how many people there are.”
3Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God increase the number of people a hundred times while the eyes of my master the king can still see it! But why does my master the king want to do this?”
4But the king’s word overruled Joab and the military commanders. So Joab and the commanders left the king’s presence to take a census of the Israelites. 5They crossed the Jordan River and began from Aroer and from#24.5 LXX; MT camped in Aroer south of the city the town that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, then on to Jazer. 6They continued to Gilead and on to Kadesh in Hittite territory.#24.6 Hebrew uncertain; correction on to the area beneath Hermon They came to Dan#24.6 LXXL; MT Dan-jaan and went around to Sidon. 7They went to the fortress of Tyre and to all the towns of the Hivites and the Canaanites. They went out to Beer-sheba in the arid southern plain of Judah. 8At the end of nine months and twenty days, after going through the entire country, they came back to Jerusalem. 9Joab reported to the king the number of the people who had been counted: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand strong men who could handle a sword; in Judah the total was five hundred thousand men.
10But after this David felt terrible that he had counted the people. David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, LORD, please take away the guilt of your servant because I have done something very foolish.”
11When David got up the next morning, the LORD’s word came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer: 12Go and tell David, This is what the LORD says: I’m offering you three punishments. Choose one of them, and that is what I will do to you.
13So Gad went to David and said to him, “Will three#24.13 LXX, 1 Chron 21:12; MT seven years of famine come on your land? Or will you run from your enemies for three months while they chase you? Or will there be three days of plague in your land? Decide now what answer I should take back to the one who sent me.”
14“I’m in deep trouble,” David said to Gad. “Let’s fall into the LORD’s hands because his mercy is great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.”
15So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that very morning until the allotted time. Seventy thousand people died, from Dan to Beer-sheba. 16But when the divine messenger stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD regretted doing this disaster and said to the messenger who was destroying the people, “That’s enough! Withdraw your hand.” At that time the LORD’s messenger was by the threshing floor of Araunah from Jebus.
17When David saw the messenger who was striking down the people, he said, “I’m the one who sinned! I’m the one who has done wrong. But these sheep—what have they done wrong? Turn your hand against me and my household.”
18That same day Gad came to David and told him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah from Jebus.” 19So David went up, following Gad’s instructions, just as the LORD had commanded.
20Araunah looked up and saw the king and his servants approaching him. Araunah rushed out and bowed low before the king, his nose to the ground. 21Araunah said, “Why has my master and king come to his servant?”
David said, “To buy this threshing floor from you to build an altar to the LORD, so the plague among the people may come to an end.”
22Then Araunah said to David, “Take it for yourself, and may my master the king do what he thinks is best. Here are oxen for the entirely burned offering, and here are threshing boards and oxen yokes for wood. 23All this, Your Majesty, Araunah gives to the king.” Then he added, “May the LORD your God respond favorably to you!”
24“No,” the king said to Araunah. “I will buy them from you at a fair price. I won’t offer up to the LORD my God entirely burned offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25David built an altar there for the LORD and offered entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices. The LORD responded to the prayers for the land, and the plague against Israel came to an end.
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2 Samuel 24: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
2 Samuel 24
24
David Counts the People
(1 Chronicles 21.1-6)
1The Lord was angry with Israel again, and he made David think it would be a good idea to count the people in Israel and Judah. 2So David told Joab and the army officers,#24.2 Joab … officers: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation (see 24.4); 1 Chronicles 21.2; Hebrew “Joab, the officer of the army.” “Go to every tribe in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north all the way south to Beersheba, and count everyone who can serve in the army. I want to know how many there are.”
3Joab answered, “I hope the Lord your God will give you 100 times more soldiers than you already have. I hope you will live to see that day! But why do you want to do a thing like this?”
4But when David refused to change his mind, Joab and the army officers went out and started counting the people. 5They crossed the Jordan River and began with#24.5 began with: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation; Hebrew “set up camp in.” Aroer and the town in the middle of the river valley. From there they went toward Gad and on as far as Jazer. 6They went to Gilead and to Kadesh in Syria.#24.6 Kadesh in Syria: Or “the lower slopes of Mount Hermon.” Then they went to Dan, Ijon,#24.6 Dan, Ijon: Or “Danjaan,” an unknown place. and on toward Sidon. 7They came to the fortress of Tyre, then went through every town of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Finally, they went to Beersheba in the Southern Desert of Judah. 8After they had gone through the whole land, they went back to Jerusalem. It had taken them 9 months and 20 days.
9Joab came and told David, “In Israel there are 800,000 who can serve in the army, and in Judah there are 500,000.”
The Lord Punishes David
(1 Chronicles 21.7-17)
10After everyone had been counted, David realized he had done wrong. He told the Lord, “What I did was stupid and terribly wrong. Lord, please forgive me.”
11Before David even got up the next morning, the Lord had told David's prophet Gad 12-13to take a message to David. Gad went to David and told him:
You must choose one of three ways for the Lord to punish you: Will there be seven#24.12,13 seven: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation “three” (see 1 Chronicles 21.12). years when the land won't grow enough food for your people? Or will your enemies chase you and make you run from them for three months? Or will there be three days of horrible disease in your land? Think about it and decide, because I have to give your answer to God, who sent me.
14David was really frightened and said, “It's a terrible choice to make! But the Lord is kind, and I'd rather be punished by him than by anyone else.”
15-16So that morning, the Lord sent an angel to spread a horrible disease everywhere in Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. And before it was over, 70,000 people had died.
When the angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord felt sorry for all the suffering he had caused and told the angel, “That's enough! Don't touch them.” This happened at the threshing place that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.
17David saw the angel killing everyone and told the Lord, “These people are like sheep with me as their shepherd.#24.17 as their shepherd: The Dead Sea Scrolls, and some manuscripts of two ancient translations (see 1 Chronicles 21.17); these words are not in the Standard Hebrew Text of this verse. I have sinned terribly, but they have done nothing wrong. Please, punish me and my family instead of them!”
David Buys Araunah's Threshing Place
(1 Chronicles 21.18—22.1)
18-19That same day the prophet Gad came and told David, “Go to the threshing place that belongs to Araunah and build an altar there for the Lord.”
So David went.
20Araunah looked and saw David and his soldiers coming up toward him. He went over to David, bowed down low, 21and said, “Your Majesty! Why have you come to see me?”
David answered, “I've come to buy your threshing place. I have to build the Lord an altar here, so this disease will stop killing the people.”
22Araunah said, “Take whatever you want and offer your sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the sacrifice. You can use the threshing-boards#24.22 threshing-boards: Heavy boards with bits of rock or metal on the bottom. They were dragged across the grain to separate the husks from the kernels. and the wooden yokes for the fire. 23Take them—they're yours! I hope the Lord your God will be pleased with you.”
24But David answered, “No! I have to pay you what they're worth. I can't offer the Lord my God a sacrifice that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing place and the oxen for 50 pieces of silver. 25Then he built an altar for the Lord. He offered sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask for his blessings.
The Lord answered the prayers of the people, and no one else died from the terrible disease.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.