2 Samuel 24
24
David’s Military Census
1The Lord’s anger burned against Israel again, and He stirred up David against them to say: “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.” # 1Ch 21:1-28
2So the king said to Joab, the commander of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the troops so I can know their number.” # Nm 1:2-3; 1Sm 13:15
3Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops 100 times more than they are # Dt 1:11 — while my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king want to do this? ”
4Yet the king’s order prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army left the king’s presence to register the troops of Israel.
5They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, # Dt 2:36; Jos 13:19,16 south of the town in the middle of the valley, and then proceeded toward Gad and Jazer. 6They went to Gilead and to the land of the Hittites # LXX; MT reads of Tahtim-hodshi ; Hb obscure and continued on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon. 7They went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Afterward, they went to the Negev of Judah at Beer-sheba.
8When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days. 9Joab gave the king the total of the registration of the troops. There were 800,000 fighting men from Israel and 500,000 men from Judah. # Nm 1:45-46
10David’s conscience troubled him # 1Sm 24:5 after he had taken a census of the troops. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I’ve done. Now, Lord, because I’ve been very foolish, # Nm 12:9-12; 1Sm 13:13 please take away Your servant’s guilt.”
David’s Punishment
11When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, # 1Sm 22:5 David’s seer: # 1Sm 9:9 12“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them, and I will do it to you.’ ”
13So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, “Do you want three # LXX; MT reads seven ; 1Ch 21:12 years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, think it over and decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.”
14David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord’s hands because His mercies are great, # Ps 103:8-18; 119:156 but don’t let me fall into human hands.”
15So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beer-sheba 70,000 men died. 16Then the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, # 2Kg 19:35 but the Lord relented concerning the destruction # Ex 32:14; Am 7:3-6 and said to the angel who was destroying # 1Co 10:10 the people, “Enough, withdraw your hand now! ” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah # = Ornan in 1Ch 21:15-28; 2Ch 3:1 the Jebusite. # 2Ch 3:1
17When David saw the angel striking the people, he said to the Lord, “Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one # LXX reads shepherd who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand be against me and my father’s family.”
David’s Altar
18Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up and set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19David went up in obedience to Gad’s command, just as the Lord had commanded. 20Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, so he went out and bowed to the king with his face to the ground.
21Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant? ”
David replied, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord, so the plague on the people may be halted.” # Nm 16:44-50
22Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wants # Lit take what is good in his eyes and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. # 1Sm 6:14; 1Kg 19:21 23My king, Araunah gives everything here to the king.” Then he said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
24The king answered Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 20 ounces # Lit 50 shekels of silver. 25He built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered prayer on behalf of the land, # 2Sm 21:14 and the plague on Israel ended.
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2 Samuel 24: HCSB
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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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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.