Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close LEB

2 Samuel 24
Lexham English Bible

David and the Census of the People

24 Again Yahweh was angry with Israel, and he[a] incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.” 2 The king said to Joab, the commander of the army who was with him: “Please go about through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people that I may know the number of the people.” 3 Then Joab said to the king, “May Yahweh your God increase the people a hundred times what they are[b] as the eyes of my lord the king are seeing. But my lord the king, why does he desire this thing?” 4 But the word of the king prevailed over Joab and over the commanders of the army, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out from before the king to count the people of Israel. 5 They crossed over the Jordan and camped at Aroer to the south of the city, which was in the middle of the wadi of Gad, and up to Jazer. 6 Then they went to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi. They came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to the Negev of Judah at Beersheba. 8 They went about through all the land, and they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

9 Then Joab gave the number of the counting of the people to the king. Israel was eight hundred thousand valiant warriors[c] wielding the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand. 10 The heart of David struck him after he had counted the people, and David said to Yahweh, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done! So then, O Yahweh, please forgive the guilt of your servant because I have acted very foolishly.” 11 When David got up in the morning, the word of Yahweh came to Gad the prophet, the seer of David, saying, 12 “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus says Yahweh, three things I am laying on you; choose for yourself one of them and I will do it to you.’” 13 Then Gad came to David, and he told him and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine in the land come to you? Or three months of your fleeing from your enemies while he is pursuing you? Or should there be three days of pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what I must return to the one who sent me a word.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am greatly distressed. Please let us fall into the hand of Yahweh, because he is great in his compassion; but into the hand of man don’t let me fall.” 15 Then Yahweh sent a plague into Israel from the morning until the agreed time,[d] and from the people from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men died.

16 When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, Yahweh regretted about the evil, and he said to the angel who brought destruction among the people, “Enough, now relax your hand.” Now the angel of Yahweh was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 David spoke to Yahweh when he saw the angel destroying among the people, and he said, “Look, I have sinned and I have done wrong, but these sheep, what did they do? Please let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.” 18 Then Gad came to David on that same day and said to him, “Go up and erect an altar to Yahweh at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up according to the word of Gad, as Yahweh had commanded. 20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming over to him, so Araunah went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy from you the threshing floor, to build an altar to Yahweh who brought a halt to the plague on the people.” 22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer what is good in his eyes. Look, here are the cattle for the burnt offering and the threshing sledge and the yokes of the oxen for the firewood. 23 All of this Araunah hereby gives to the king.” Then Araunah said to the king, “May Yahweh your God respond favorably for you.” 24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy[e] it from you for a price; I don’t want to offer to Yahweh my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the cattle for fifty shekels of silver. 25 David built an altar to Yahweh there, and he offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then Yahweh responded to his prayer for the land and brought the plague to a halt from upon Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 24:1 The parallel passage in 1 Chr 21 names the “he” as Satan
  2. 2 Samuel 24:3 Literally “as them and as them”
  3. 2 Samuel 24:9 Literally “men of ability”
  4. 2 Samuel 24:15 Literally “until the time of agreed time”
  5. 2 Samuel 24:24 Literally “buying I will buy”
Close ISV

2 Samuel 24
International Standard Version

David Takes a Census of Israel(A)

24 Later, God’s anger blazed forth against Israel, so he incited David to move against them by telling him, “Go take a census of Israel and Judah.”

2 So the king ordered Joab, commander of the special forces, who was with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and take a census of the people so I can be made aware of the total number.”

3 But Joab replied, “May the Lord your God increase the population of the people a hundredfold while your majesty the king is still alive to see it happen! But why does your majesty the king want to do this?”

4 But the king’s order overruled Joab and the commanders of the special forces, so Joab and the commanders of the special forces left David’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan River,[a] encamped at Aroer south of the town that is located in the river valley, proceeding through Gad and then on toward Jazer. 6 They went on to Gilead and the territory of Tahtim-hodshi, then on toward Dan. From Dan they went around to Sidon 7 and arrived at the fortified city of Tyre and all of the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites.

Eventually they proceeded to Beer-sheba in the Judean Negev.[b] 8 After they had traveled throughout the entire land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days. 9 Joab reported the total number of men to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 men trained for war.[c] In Judah there were 500,000.

Discipline for David’s Sin(B)

10 Later, David’s conscience bothered[d] him after he had numbered the army,[e] so David told the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by what I did. But now I am asking you, please remove the guilt of your servant, since I have acted very foolishly.”

11 Before David arose the next morning, this message from the Lord came to Gad, David’s seer: 12 “Go tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I’m holding three choices out for you: pick one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.”’”

13 So Gad went to David and asked him, “Shall seven years of famine come to your land, or three months of reversals[f] while you flee from your enemies as they pursue you, or three days of pestilence in your land? Decide right now what I am to answer to the one who sent me.”

14 So David replied to Gad, “This is a very difficult choice for me to make! Let me now please fall into the hand of the Lord, since his mercy is very great, but may I never fall into human hands!”

15 That very morning, the Lord sent a pestilence to Israel until the conclusion of the time designated, and 70,000 men[g] died from Dan to Beer-sheba. 16 As the angel was stretching out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord was grieved because of the calamity, so he told the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Stay your hand!” So the angel of the Lord remained near the threshing floor that belonged to Araunah[h] the Jebusite.[i]

17 When David saw the angel who had been attacking the people, he told the Lord, “Look, I’m the one who has sinned! I did the evil. These are only sheep! What did they do? Please, let your hand fall on me and on my household!”

David Buys Araunah’s Threshing Floor(C)

18 That very day, Gad approached David and told him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor that belongs to Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up, just as Gad had ordered, consistent with the Lord’s command.

20 When Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his staff approaching him. Araunah went out, bowed down before the king with his face on the ground, 21 and asked[j] him, “Why has your majesty the king come to his servant?”

David replied, “To purchase your threshing floor and to build an altar to the Lord, so the pestilence can be averted from the people.”

22 Araunah responded to David, “May your majesty the king take it and offer whatever pleases him. Here are oxen for a burnt offering, along with the threshing sledges and yokes from the oxen for wood! 23 Your majesty, Araunah gives all of this[k] to the king.” Araunah also told the king, “May the Lord your God be pleased with you!”

24 “No!” the king replied to Araunah. “I will buy them from you at full[l] price. I won’t offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 silver shekels,[m] 25 built[n] an altar to the Lord there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord answered David’s prayers for the land[o] and the pestilence on Israel was averted.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 24:5 The Heb. lacks River
  2. 2 Samuel 24:7 I.e. southern regions of the Sinai peninsula; cf. Josh 10:40
  3. 2 Samuel 24:9 Lit. men in wielding a sword
  4. 2 Samuel 24:10 Lit. David’s heart struck
  5. 2 Samuel 24:10 Lit. people
  6. 2 Samuel 24:13 Or destruction
  7. 2 Samuel 24:15 Or soldiers
  8. 2 Samuel 24:16 Araunah was also known as Ornan; cf. 1Chr 21:15
  9. 2 Samuel 24:16 I.e. a descendant of Canaan’s third son (cf. Gen 10:15-16), Jebusites were native to Jebus, the ancient name of the city of Jerusalem
  10. 2 Samuel 24:21 Lit. and Araunah said
  11. 2 Samuel 24:23 The Heb. lacks of this
  12. 2 Samuel 24:24 The Heb. lacks full
  13. 2 Samuel 24:24 I.e. about one and one quarter pounds at 0.4 shekels per ounce
  14. 2 Samuel 24:25 Lit. David built
  15. 2 Samuel 24:25 Cf. 2Sam 21:14
Next
2 Samuel 23
1 Kings 1
Next
dropdown
Lexham English Bible (LEB)

2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software

International Standard Version (ISV)

Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.

ISV Bible