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

2 Samuel 24
Legacy Standard Bible

David Sins in Taking a Census

24 (A)And (B)again the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “(C)Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the military force who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, (D)from Dan to Beersheba, and [a]take a census of the people, that I may know the total count of the people.” 3 But Joab said to the king, “(E)Now may Yahweh your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” 4 Nevertheless, the king’s word stood strong against Joab and against the commanders of the military force. So Joab and the commanders of the military force went out from the presence of the king to [b]take a census of the people of Israel. 5 And they crossed the Jordan and camped in (F)Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and toward (G)Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to [c]the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to (H)Sidon, 7 and came to the (I)fortified city of Tyre and to all the cities of the (J)Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to (K)Beersheba. 8 So they had gone about through the whole land, and they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave (L)the total count of the [d]census of the people to the king; and there were in Israel (M)800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000 men.

10 Then (N)David’s heart struck him after he had counted the people. So David said to Yahweh, “(O)I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Yahweh, please [e]take away the iniquity of Your slave, for (P)I have acted very foolishly.” 11 Then David arose in the morning, and the word of Yahweh came to (Q)the prophet Gad, David’s (R)seer, saying, 12 “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, and I will do that to you.”’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall (S)seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your adversaries while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now, know and see what word I should return to Him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of Yahweh, (T)for His compassions are abundant. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

15 So (U)Yahweh [f]sent a pestilence against Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and 70,000 men of the people (V)from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 (W)Then the angel sent forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, and (X)Yahweh [g]relented of the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of Yahweh was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to Yahweh when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, (Y)it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done unrighteousness; but (Z)these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house.”

David Erects an Altar

18 So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “(AA)Go up, erect an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of [h]Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up according to the word of Gad, just as Yahweh had commanded. 20 And Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. 21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to Yahweh, (AB)that the plague may be checked from being upon the people.” 22 And Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, (AC)the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May Yahweh your God (AD)accept you.” 24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for (AE)I will not offer burnt offerings to Yahweh my God [i]which cost me nothing.” So (AF)David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty [j]shekels of silver. 25 Then David built there an altar to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. (AG)Thus Yahweh was moved by the entreaty for the land, and the plague was checked from being upon Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 24:2 Lit muster
  2. 2 Samuel 24:4 Lit muster
  3. 2 Samuel 24:6 Or Kadesh in the land of the Hittite
  4. 2 Samuel 24:9 Lit muster
  5. 2 Samuel 24:10 Lit cause to pass away
  6. 2 Samuel 24:15 Lit gave
  7. 2 Samuel 24:16 Or regretted, cf. 15:11, 29, 35
  8. 2 Samuel 24:18 In 2 Chr 3:1, Ornan
  9. 2 Samuel 24:24 Lit gratuitously
  10. 2 Samuel 24:24 A shekel was approx. 0.4 oz. or 11 gm
Close NET

2 Samuel 24
New English Translation

David Displeases the Lord by Taking a Census

24 The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.”[a] 2 The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”

3 Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?”

4 But the king’s edict stood, despite the objections of[b] Joab and the leaders of the army. So Joab and the leaders of the army left the king’s presence in order to muster the Israelite army.

5 They crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, on the south side of the city, at[c] the wadi of Gad, near Jazer. 6 Then they went on to Gilead and to the region of Tahtim Hodshi, coming to Dan Jaan and on around to Sidon. 7 Then they went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beer Sheba. 8 They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem.

9 Joab reported the number of warriors[d] to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.

10 David felt guilty[e] after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

11 When David got up the next morning, the Lord’s message had already come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer: 12 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord has said: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.’”

13 Gad went to David and told him, “Shall seven[f] years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemies with them in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide[g] what I should tell the one who sent me.” 14 David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by human hands!”[h]

15 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time, and 70,000 people died from Dan to Beer Sheba. 16 When the angel[i] extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment.[j] He told the angel who was killing the people, “That’s enough! Stop now!”[k] (Now the angel of the Lord was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)

17 When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, “Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep—what have they done? Attack me and my family.”[l]

David Acquires a Threshing Floor and Constructs an Altar There

18 So Gad went to David that day and told him, “Go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do, according to the Lord’s instructions.

20 When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants approaching him, he[m] went out and bowed to the king with his face[n] to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people.” 22 Araunah told David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wishes[o] and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges[p] and harnesses[q] for wood. 23 I, the servant of my lord[r] the king, give it all to the king!” Araunah also told the king, “May the Lord your God show you favor!” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you! I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver.[s] 25 Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 24:1 sn The parallel text in 1 Chr 21:1 says, “An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.” The Samuel version gives an underlying theological perspective, while the Chronicler simply describes what happened from a human perspective. The adversary in 1 Chr 21:1 is likely a human enemy, probably a nearby nation whose hostility against Israel pressured David into numbering the people so he could assess his military strength. See the note at 1 Chr 21:1.
  2. 2 Samuel 24:4 tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than.”
  3. 2 Samuel 24:5 tn Heb “in the middle of.”
  4. 2 Samuel 24:9 tn Heb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.”
  5. 2 Samuel 24:10 tn Heb “and the heart of David struck him.”
  6. 2 Samuel 24:13 tc The LXX has here “three” rather than “seven,” and is followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT. See 1 Chr 21:12.
  7. 2 Samuel 24:13 tn Heb “now know and see.”
  8. 2 Samuel 24:14 tn Heb “There is great distress to me. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for great is his mercy, but into the hand of man let me not fall.”
  9. 2 Samuel 24:16 tn Heb “messenger.”
  10. 2 Samuel 24:16 tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”
  11. 2 Samuel 24:16 tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”
  12. 2 Samuel 24:17 tn Heb “let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.”
  13. 2 Samuel 24:20 tn Heb “Araunah.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
  14. 2 Samuel 24:20 tn Heb “nostrils.”
  15. 2 Samuel 24:22 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
  16. 2 Samuel 24:22 sn Threshing sledges were heavy boards used in ancient times for loosening grain from husks. On the bottom sides of these boards sharp stones were embedded, and the boards were then dragged across the grain on a threshing floor by an ox or donkey.
  17. 2 Samuel 24:22 tn Heb “the equipment of the oxen.”
  18. 2 Samuel 24:23 tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation reads עֶבֶד אֲדֹנִי (ʿeved ʾadoni, “the servant of my lord”) rather than the MT’s אֲרַוְנָה (ʾAravnah). In normal court etiquette a subject would not use his own name in this way, but would more likely refer to himself in the third person. The MT probably first sustained loss of עֶבֶד (ʿeved, “servant”), leading to confusion of the word for “my lord” with the name of the Jebusite referred to here.
  19. 2 Samuel 24:24 tn Heb “fifty shekels of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.
Next
2 Samuel 23
1 Kings 1
Next
dropdown
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.