2 Samuel 24
24
1 AGAIN THE anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah.
2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know their number.
3 And Joab said to the king, May the Lord your God add a hundred times as many people as there are, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?
4 But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king's presence to number the Israelites.
5 They passed over the Jordan and encamped in Aroer, on the south side of the city lying in the midst of the ravine [of the Arnon] toward Gad, and on to Jazer.
6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan [Dan in the forest] and around to Sidon,
7 And came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the South (the Negeb) of Judah at Beersheba.
8 So when they had gone through all the land [taking the census], they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 And Joab gave 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.
10 But David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people. David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in what I have done. I beseech You, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.
11 When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
12 Go and say to David, Thus says the Lord, I hold over you three choices; select one of them, so I may bring it upon you.
13 So Gad came to David and told him and said, Shall seven years of famine come to your land? Or will you flee three months before your pursuing enemies? Or do you prefer three days of pestilence in your land? Consider and see what answer I shall return to Him Who sent me.
14 And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are many and great; but let me not fall into the hands of man.
15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba 70,000 men.
16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented of the evil and reversed His judgment and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay your hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel who was smiting the people, he spoke to the Lord and said, Behold, I have sinned and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray You, be [only] against me and against my father's house.
18 Then Gad came to David and said, Go up, rear an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19 So David went up according to Gad's word, as the Lord commanded.
20 Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming toward him; and [he] went out and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
21 Araunah said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor from you, to build there an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22 And Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Behold, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for wood.
23 All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king. And Araunah said to the king, The Lord your God accept you.
24 But King David said to Araunah, No, but I will buy it of you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God of that which costs me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and Israel's plague was stayed.
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2 Samuel 24: AMPC
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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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