David’s Warriors. ⁸ These are the names of David’s warriors. Ishbaal, a Hachamonite, was the leader of the Three. It was he who brandished his spear over eight hundred men and slew all of them at one time.

⁹ Next to him among the Three was Eleazar, the son of Dodo the Ahohite. He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines had assembled there for battle. When the Israelites withdrew, ¹⁰ he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines until his hand became so stiff that he was unable to release it from the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. Afterward the people rallied around him, but only so that they might be able to strip the dead.

¹¹ Next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together at Lehi where there was a field with an abundant crop of lentils. When the Israelites fled upon being confronted by the Philistines, ¹² Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field, defended it, and cut down the Philistines. Thus the Lord brought about a great victory.

¹³ At the beginning of the harvest, three of the Thirty went down to join David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴ David was then in the stronghold, and there was a garrison of Philistines in Bethlehem.

¹⁵ One day David said longingly: “Oh, if only someone would give me some water to drink from the well that is by the gate of Bethlehem!” ¹⁶ On hearing this, the Three forced their way through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well by the gate of Bethlehem, and presented it to David. However, he refused to drink it, and instead, he poured it out to the Lord, ¹⁷ saying: “The Lord forbid that I should do this. How can I drink the blood of the men who went forth to obtain it and thereby placed their lives at risk?” Therefore, he would not drink it.

¹⁸ Abishai, the brother of Joab and the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the Thirty. It was he who brandished his spear over three hundred men whom he had killed. ¹⁹ He was the most illustrious member of the Thirty and he became their commander. However, he never became one of the Three.

²⁰ Benaiah of Kabzeel was the son of Jehoiada and a valiant warrior who was renowned for many great exploits. It was he who slaughtered two of Moab’s most renowned warriors. On one occasion he also lowered himself into a pit and killed a lion on a day when snow had fallen. ²¹ Further-more, he was the one who slew an Egyptian, a man of striking stature who was armed with a spear. Benaiah went against him with a club, wrested the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. ²² Such exploits of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, won for him a name among the Thirty warriors. ²³ Although he commanded greater respect than the rest of the Thirty, he was not equal to the Three. David appointed him to be the commander of his bodyguard.

²⁴ Among the Thirty were Asahel, the brother of Joab; Elhanan, the son of Dodo, from Bethlehem; ²⁵ Shammah from Harod; Elika from Harod; ²⁶ Helez from Beth-pelet; Ira, the son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa; ²⁷ Abiezer from Anathoth; Mebunnai the Hushathite; ²⁸ Zalmon the Ahohite; Maharai from Netophah; ²⁹ Heled, the son of Baanah, from Netophah; Ittai, the son of Ribai, from Gibeah in Benjamin; ³⁰ Benaiah from Pira-thon; Hiddai from the torrents of Gaash; ³¹ Ali-albon from Beth-arabah; Azmaveth from Bahurim; ³² Eliahba from Shaalbon; the sons of Jashen; ³³ Jonathan, the son of Shammah, from Harar; Ahiam, the son of Sharar, from Harar; ³⁴ Eliphelet, the son of Abishai, from Bath-maacah; Eliam, the son of Ahithophel, from Gilo; ³⁵ Hezro from Carmel; Paarai the Arbite; ³⁶ Igal, the son of Nathan, from Zobah; Bani the Gadite; ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite; Nahari from Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab, the son of Zeruiah; ³⁸ Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite; ³⁹ Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.

Chapter 24^[a]

Census of the People. ¹ Once again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying: “Go forth and take a census of Israel and Judah.” ² Therefore, the king said to Joab and to all the army commanders who were with him: “Go throughout all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and take a census of the people so that I may know how many there are.”

³ Joab said to the king in response: “May the Lord, your God, increase the number of your people a hundredfold, and may the eyes of my lord the king live to see it. But why does my lord the king want to undertake this task?” ⁴ However, the king was determined to follow through on this enterprise, and he overruled Joab and the army commanders. Therefore, they departed from the presence of the king in order to take the census.

⁵ After crossing the Jordan, they began at Aroer and the town in the middle of the valley, and then they moved on toward Gad and Jazer. ⁶ After that, they proceeded to Gilead and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites. Next they came to Dan, and from Dan they cut across to Sidon ⁷ and arrived at the fortress of Tyre, moving on afterward to all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites, and then to the Negeb of Judah, at Beer-sheba.

⁸ Having traveled throughout the entire country, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Joab then reported to the king the number of those who had been recorded in the census. In Israel there were eight hundred thousand men who were fit for military service, and in Judah there were five hundred thousand.^[b]

¹⁰ The Pestilence. However, after the census had been taken, David was stricken with remorse, and he said to the Lord: “I have committed a grievous sin in what I have done. I beseech you, Lord, to forgive the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” ¹¹ When David arose the following morning, the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying: ¹² “Go forth and say to David: ‘This is the word of the Lord: “I offer you three alternatives.” Choose one of them, and I will inflict it upon you.” ’ ”

¹³ Therefore, Gad came to David and reported what the Lord had said. Then he asked him: “Which do you choose? Do you prefer three years of famine to afflict your land? Or do you prefer to take flight for three months while your enemies pursue you? Or do you prefer to have your land afflicted with three days of pestilence? Consider carefully the choices you have been offered and decide what answer I am to take back to the one who sent me.”

¹⁴ David said to Gad: “I am in a desperate plight. It is far better to fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Let me not fall into the hands of men.” ¹⁵ Therefore, David chose the option of the pestilence. Then the Lord sent a pestilence throughout Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people died, from Dan to Beer-sheba.

¹⁶ However, when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord regretted the terrible calamity that he had approved, and he said to the angel who was afflicting the people: “That is enough! Stay your hand!” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷ When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord: “I was the one who sinned. I was the one who acted wickedly. What have these sheep done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family.”

¹⁸ Sacrifice of Atonement. On that day Gad came to David and said to him: “Go up and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ Therefore, David obeyed Gad’s instructions and went up as the Lord had commanded.

²⁰ When Araunah looked down and beheld the king and his retinue coming toward him, he went forth and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. ²¹ Then Araunah asked: “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied: “I have come to purchase the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord so that the plague may be lifted from the people.”

²² In reply, Araunah said to David: “I beseech my lord the king to take and offer up whatever he wishes. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering, as well as the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for wood. ²³ All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” Then he added: “May the Lord, your God, look favorably upon your offering.”

²⁴ However, the king said to Araunah: “No. I insist on paying you for this. Under no circumstances will I offer up to the Lord, my God, burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” Therefore, David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.^[c]

²⁵ Then David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, the Lord answered David’s supplications for the land, and the plague was lifted from Israel.