2 Samuel 24
Holman Christian Standard Bible
David’s Military Census
24 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel again, and He stirred up David against them to say: “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”(A)
2 So the king said to Joab, the commander of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the troops so I can know their number.”(B)
3 Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops 100 times more than they are(C)—while my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king want to do this?”
4 Yet the king’s order prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army left the king’s presence to register the troops of Israel.
5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer,(D) south of the town in the middle of the valley, and then proceeded toward Gad and Jazer. 6 They went to Gilead and to the land of the Hittites[a] and continued on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon. 7 They went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Afterward, they went to the Negev of Judah at Beer-sheba.
8 When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days. 9 Joab gave the king the total of the registration of the troops. There were 800,000 fighting men from Israel and 500,000 men from Judah.(E)
10 David’s conscience troubled him(F) after he had taken a census of the troops. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I’ve done. Now, Lord, because I’ve been very foolish,(G) please take away Your servant’s guilt.”
David’s Punishment
11 When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the Lord had come to the prophet Gad,(H) David’s seer:(I) 12 “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them, and I will do it to you.’”
13 So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, “Do you want three[b] years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, think it over and decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.”
14 David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord’s hands because His mercies are great,(J) but don’t let me fall into human hands.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beer-sheba 70,000 men died. 16 Then the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it,(K) but the Lord relented concerning the destruction(L) and said to the angel who was destroying(M) the people, “Enough, withdraw your hand now!” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah[c] the Jebusite.(N)
17 When David saw the angel striking the people, he said to the Lord, “Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one[d] who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand be against me and my father’s family.”
David’s Altar
18 Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up and set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 David went up in obedience to Gad’s command, just as the Lord had commanded. 20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, so he went out and bowed to the king with his face to the ground.
21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”
David replied, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord, so the plague on the people may be halted.”(O)
22 Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wants[e] and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.(P) 23 My king, Araunah gives everything here to the king.” Then he said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
24 The king answered Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 20 ounces[f] of silver. 25 He built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered prayer on behalf of the land,(Q) and the plague on Israel ended.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 24:6 LXX; MT reads of Tahtim-hodshi; Hb obscure
- 2 Samuel 24:13 LXX; MT reads seven; 1Ch 21:12
- 2 Samuel 24:16 = Ornan in 1Ch 21:15-28; 2Ch 3:1
- 2 Samuel 24:17 LXX reads shepherd
- 2 Samuel 24:22 Lit take what is good in his eyes
- 2 Samuel 24:24 Lit 50 shekels
2 Samuel 24
Common English Bible
David’s census
24 The Lord burned with anger against Israel again, and he incited David against them: Go and count the people of Israel and Judah.
2 So the king said to Joab and the military commanders[a] who were with him, “Go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people so I know how many people there are.”
3 Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God increase the number of people a hundred times while the eyes of my master the king can still see it! But why does my master the king want to do this?”
4 But the king’s word overruled Joab and the military commanders. So Joab and the commanders left the king’s presence to take a census of the Israelites. 5 They crossed the Jordan River and began from Aroer and from[b] the town that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, then on to Jazer. 6 They continued to Gilead and on to Kadesh in Hittite territory.[c] They came to Dan[d] and went around to Sidon. 7 They went to the fortress of Tyre and to all the towns of the Hivites and the Canaanites. They went out to Beer-sheba in the arid southern plain of Judah. 8 At the end of nine months and twenty days, after going through the entire country, they came back to Jerusalem. 9 Joab reported to the king the number of the people who had been counted: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand strong men who could handle a sword; in Judah the total was five hundred thousand men.
10 But after this David felt terrible that he had counted the people. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, please take away the guilt of your servant because I have done something very foolish.”
11 When David got up the next morning, the Lord’s word came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer: 12 Go and tell David, This is what the Lord says: I’m offering you three punishments. Choose one of them, and that is what I will do to you.
13 So Gad went to David and said to him, “Will three[e] years of famine come on your land? Or will you run from your enemies for three months while they chase you? Or will there be three days of plague in your land? Decide now what answer I should take back to the one who sent me.”
14 “I’m in deep trouble,” David said to Gad. “Let’s fall into the Lord’s hands because his mercy is great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that very morning until the allotted time. Seventy thousand people died, from Dan to Beer-sheba. 16 But when the divine messenger stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord regretted doing this disaster and said to the messenger who was destroying the people, “That’s enough! Withdraw your hand.” At that time the Lord’s messenger was by the threshing floor of Araunah from Jebus.
17 When David saw the messenger who was striking down the people, he said, “I’m the one who sinned! I’m the one who has done wrong. But these sheep—what have they done wrong? Turn your hand against me and my household.”
18 That same day Gad came to David and told him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah from Jebus.” 19 So David went up, following Gad’s instructions, just as the Lord had commanded.
20 Araunah looked up and saw the king and his servants approaching him. Araunah rushed out and bowed low before the king, his nose to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my master and king come to his servant?”
David said, “To buy this threshing floor from you to build an altar to the Lord, so the plague among the people may come to an end.”
22 Then Araunah said to David, “Take it for yourself, and may my master the king do what he thinks is best. Here are oxen for the entirely burned offering, and here are threshing boards and oxen yokes for wood. 23 All this, Your Majesty, Araunah gives to the king.” Then he added, “May the Lord your God respond favorably to you!”
24 “No,” the king said to Araunah. “I will buy them from you at a fair price. I won’t offer up to the Lord my God entirely burned offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 David built an altar there for the Lord and offered entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices. The Lord responded to the prayers for the land, and the plague against Israel came to an end.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 24:2 LXX and 2 Sam 24:4; MT commander
- 2 Samuel 24:5 LXX; MT camped in Aroer south of the city
- 2 Samuel 24:6 Hebrew uncertain; correction on to the area beneath Hermon
- 2 Samuel 24:6 LXXL; MT Dan-jaan
- 2 Samuel 24:13 LXX, 1 Chron 21:12; MT seven
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