The Census of Israel and Judah^(A)

21 Now ^(B)Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to ^[a]number Israel.

David’s Census of Israel and Judah^(A)

24 Again ^(B)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, ^(C)“Go, ^[a]number Israel and Judah.”

² So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, ^(D)from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that ^(E)I may know the number of the people.”

³ And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”

⁴ Nevertheless the king’s word ^[a]prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.

⁵ And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in ^(A)Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward ^(B)Jazer. ⁶ Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to ^(C)Dan Jaan and around to ^(D)Sidon; ⁷ and they came to the stronghold of ^(E)Tyre and to all the cities of the ^(F)Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. ⁸ So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁵ Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. ^6 (A)But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ^[a]word was abominable to Joab.

⁷ And ^[b]God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.

The Judgment on David’s Sin^(A)

¹⁰ And ^(B)David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So ^(C)David said to the Lord, ^(D)“I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have ^(E)done very foolishly.”

¹¹ Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(F)Gad, David’s ^(G)seer, saying, ¹² “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”

¹¹ So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, ^12 (A)either ^[a]three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord—the plague in the land, with the ^[b]angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹³ And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His ^(B)mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁵ So ^(A)the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died.

¹⁵ And God sent ^[a]an ^(A)angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As ^[b]he was destroying, the Lord looked and ^(B)relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain ^[c]your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the ^(C)threshing floor of ^[d]Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶ Then David lifted his eyes and ^(D)saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷ And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these ^(E)sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

¹⁸ Therefore, the ^(F)angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹ So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord. ²⁰ Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. ²¹ So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground.