⁷ But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel.

¹⁴ So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell.

⁵ because ^(A)David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, ^(B)except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

David's Census

24 ^(A)(B)Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ^(C)“Go, number Israel and Judah.”

¹⁴ And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in ^(A)Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that ^(B)God responded to the plea for the land.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David ^(A)sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

²⁷ And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and ^(A)she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

¹⁶ “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day ^(A)in rebellion against the Lord? ¹⁷ Have we not had enough of ^(B)the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, ¹⁸ that you too must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if ^(C)you too rebel against the Lord today then tomorrow ^(D)he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁹ But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord's land ^(E)where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. ^(F)Only do not rebel against the Lord or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. ^20 (G)Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and ^(H)wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.’”

²¹ Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, ²² “The Mighty One, ^(I)God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! ^(J)He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today ²³ for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. Or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself ^(K)take vengeance. ²⁴ No, but we did it from fear that ^(L)in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord. ²⁶ Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice,

¹³ Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ^(A)‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.”