¹⁹ I will also ^(A)break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze.

^16 [a](A)Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. ¹⁷ Or ^(B)the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will ^(C)shut up the heavens ^(D)so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and ^(E)you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

¹⁰ Now ^(A)David’s heart ^[a]troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “^(B)I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please ^[b]take away the iniquity of Your servant, for ^(C)I have acted very foolishly.” ¹¹ When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to ^(D)the prophet Gad, David’s ^(E)seer, saying, ¹² “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the Lord says, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” ¹³ So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall ^(F)seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.”