1 Chronicles 21:1-6

Contemporary English Version

David Counts the People

(2 Samuel 24.1-9)

21 Satan decided to cause trouble for Israel by making David think it was a good idea to find out how many people there were in Israel and Judah. ² David told Joab and the army commanders, “Count everyone in Israel, from the town of Beersheba in the south all the way north to Dan. Then I will know how many people can serve in my army.”

³ Joab answered, “Your Majesty, even if the Lord made your kingdom a hundred times larger, you would still rule everyone in it. Why do you need to know how many soldiers there are? Don't you think that would make the whole nation angry?”

⁴ But David would not change his mind. And so Joab went everywhere in Israel and Judah and counted the people. He returned to Jerusalem ⁵ and told David that the total number of men who could serve in the army was 1,100,000 in Israel and 470,000 in Judah. ⁶ Joab refused to include anyone from the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, because he still disagreed with David's orders.