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So King David said to Joab, the commander of the army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,[a] and count the people. Then I will know how many there are.”

But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God give you a hundred times more people, and may my master the king live to see this happen. Why do you want to do this?”

But the king commanded Joab and the commanders of the army, so they left the king to count the Israelites.

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Footnotes

  1. 24:2 Dan to Beersheba Dan was the city farthest north in Israel, and Beersheba was the city farthest south. So this means all the people of Israel.

So the king said to Joab(A) and the army commanders[a] with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba(B) and enroll(C) the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”

But Joab(D) replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over,(E) and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 24:2 Septuagint (see also verse 4 and 1 Chron. 21:2); Hebrew Joab the army commander