2 Samuel 24
24
David Takes a Census
(1 Chr 21.1–27)
1The LORD was angry with Israel once more, and he made David bring trouble on them. The LORD said to him, “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah.” 2So David gave orders to Joab, the commander of his army: “Go with your officers through all the tribes of Israel from one end of the country to the other, and count the people. I want to know how many there are.”
3But Joab answered the king, “Your Majesty, may the LORD your God make the people of Israel a hundred times more numerous than they are now, and may you live to see him do it. But why does Your Majesty want to do this?” 4But the king made Joab and his officers obey his order; they left his presence and went out to count the people of Israel.
5They crossed the Jordan and camped south of Aroer, the city in the middle of the valley, in the territory of Gad.#24.5 Probable text Aroer… Gad; Hebrew unclear. From there they went north to Jazer, 6and on to Gilead and to Kadesh, in Hittite territory.#24.6 One ancient translation Kadesh, in Hittite territory; Hebrew to the land of Tahtim, Hodshi. Then they went to Dan, and from Dan they went#24.6 Probable text and from Dan they went; Hebrew unclear. west to Sidon. 7Then they went south to the fortified city of Tyre, on to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites, and finally to Beersheba, in the southern part of Judah. 8So after nine months and twenty days they returned to Jerusalem, having travelled through the whole country. 9They reported to the king the total number of men capable of military service: 800,000 in Israel and 500,000 in Judah.
10But after David had taken the census, his conscience began to trouble him, and he said to the LORD, “I have committed a terrible sin in doing this! Please forgive me. I have acted foolishly.”
11-12The LORD said to Gad, David's prophet, “Go and tell David that I am giving him three choices. I will do whichever he chooses.” The next morning, after David got up, 13Gad went to him, told him what the LORD had said, and asked, “Which is it to be? Three#24.13 Some ancient translations (and see 1 Chr 21.12) Three; Hebrew Seven. years of famine in your land or three months of running away from your enemies or three days of an epidemic in your land? Now think it over, and tell me what answer to take back to the LORD.”
14David answered, “I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by human beings. Let the LORD himself be the one to punish us, for he is merciful.” 15So the LORD sent an epidemic on Israel, which lasted from that morning until the time that he had chosen. From one end of the country to the other 70,000 Israelites died. 16When the LORD's angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD changed his mind about punishing the people and said to the angel who was killing them, “Stop! That's enough!” The angel was by the threshing place of Araunah, a Jebusite.
17David saw the angel who was killing the people, and said to the LORD, “I am the guilty one. I am the one who did wrong. What have these poor people done? You should punish me and my family.”
18That same day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up to Araunah's threshing place and build an altar to the LORD.” 19David obeyed the LORD's command and went as Gad had told him. 20Araunah looked down and saw the king and his officials coming up to him. He threw himself on the ground in front of David 21and asked, “Your Majesty, why are you here?”
David answered, “To buy your threshing place and build an altar for the LORD, in order to stop the epidemic.”
22“Take it, Your Majesty,” Araunah said, “and offer to the LORD whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an offering on the altar; here are their yokes and the threshing boards to use as fuel.” 23Araunah gave it all to the king#24.23 Probable text to the king; Hebrew to the king the king. and said to him, “May the LORD your God accept your offering.”
24But the king answered, “No, I will pay you for it. I will not offer to the LORD my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.” And he bought the threshing place and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver. 25Then he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The LORD answered his prayer, and the epidemic in Israel was stopped.
Currently Selected:
2 Samuel 24: GNBDK
Highlight
Share
Copy
![None](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2F58%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fweb-assets.youversion.com%2Fapp-icons%2Fen.png&w=128&q=75)
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
2 Samuel 24
24
David and the Census of the People
1Again Yahweh was angry with Israel, and he#The parallel passage in 1 Chr 21 names the “he” as Satan incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.” 2The king said to Joab, the commander of the army who was with him: “Please go about through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people that I may know the number of the people.” 3Then Joab said to the king, “May Yahweh your God increase the people a hundred times what they are#Literally “as them and as them” as the eyes of my lord the king are seeing. But my lord the king, why does he desire this thing?” 4But the word of the king prevailed over Joab and over the commanders of the army, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out from before the king to count the people of Israel. 5They crossed over the Jordan and camped at Aroer to the south of the city, which was in the middle of the wadi of Gad, and up to Jazer. 6Then they went to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi. They came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon 7and came to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to the Negev of Judah at Beersheba. 8They went about through all the land, and they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9Then Joab gave the number of the counting of the people to the king. Israel was eight hundred thousand valiant warriors#Literally “men of ability” wielding the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand. 10The heart of David struck him after he had counted the people, and David said to Yahweh, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done! So then, O Yahweh, please forgive the guilt of your servant because I have acted very foolishly.” 11When David got up in the morning, the word of Yahweh came to Gad the prophet, the seer of David, saying, 12“Go and speak to David, ‘Thus says Yahweh, three things I am laying on you; choose for yourself one of them and I will do it to you.’ ” 13Then Gad came to David, and he told him and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine in the land come to you? Or three months of your fleeing from your enemies while he is pursuing you? Or should there be three days of pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what I must return to the one who sent me a word.” 14Then David said to Gad, “I am greatly distressed. Please let us fall into the hand of Yahweh, because he is great in his compassion; but into the hand of man don’t let me fall.” 15Then Yahweh sent a plague into Israel from the morning until the agreed time,#Literally “until the time of agreed time” and from the people from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men died.
16When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, Yahweh regretted about the evil, and he said to the angel who brought destruction among the people, “Enough, now relax your hand.” Now the angel of Yahweh was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17David spoke to Yahweh when he saw the angel destroying among the people, and he said, “Look, I have sinned and I have done wrong, but these sheep, what did they do? Please let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.” 18Then Gad came to David on that same day and said to him, “Go up and erect an altar to Yahweh at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19So David went up according to the word of Gad, as Yahweh had commanded. 20Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming over to him, so 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 from you the threshing floor, to build an altar to Yahweh who brought a halt to the plague on the people.” 22Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer what is good in his eyes. Look, here are the cattle for the burnt offering and the threshing sledge and the yokes of the oxen for the firewood. 23All of this Araunah hereby gives to the king.” Then Araunah said to the king, “May Yahweh your God respond favorably for you.” 24Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy#Literally “buying I will buy” it from you for a price; I don’t want to offer to Yahweh my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the cattle for fifty shekels of silver. 25David built an altar to Yahweh there, and he offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then Yahweh responded to his prayer for the land and brought the plague to a halt from upon Israel.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
![None](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2F58%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fweb-assets.youversion.com%2Fapp-icons%2Fen.png&w=128&q=75)
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software