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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2 Samuel 24: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com