2 Samuel 24
New American Standard Bible
The Census Taken
24 (A)Now (B)the anger of the Lord burned against Israel again, and He incited David against them to say, “(C)Go, count Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army, who was with him, “Roam about now through all the tribes of Israel, (D)from Dan to Beersheba, and conduct a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.” 3 But Joab said to the king, “(E)May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king can still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” 4 Nevertheless, the king’s order prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army left the presence of the king to conduct a census of the people of Israel. 5 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 [a]the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to (H)Sidon, 7 then they came to the (I)fortress 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 when they had roamed about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave (L)the number of the census of the people to the king: in Israel there were (M)eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
10 Now (N)David’s heart [b]troubled him after he had counted the people. So David said to the Lord, “(O)I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, Lord, please [c]overlook the guilt of Your servant, for (P)I have acted very foolishly.” 11 When David got up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to (Q)Gad the prophet, David’s (R)seer, saying, 12 “Go and speak to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am imposing upon you three choices; choose for yourself one of them, and I will do it 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 for three months before your enemies while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ of plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall 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 the Lord, (T)for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
Plague Sent
15 So (U)the Lord [d]sent a plague upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people (V)from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 (W)When the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, (X)the Lord relented of the disaster and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now drop your hand!” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the Lord 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 wrong; but (Z)these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house!”
David Builds an Altar
18 So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “(AA)Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of [e]Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 Then David went up in accordance with the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. 20 And Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; so 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 the Lord, (AB)so that the plague may be [f]withdrawn from the people.” 22 Araunah then said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, here are (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 the Lord your God be (AD)favorable to you.” 24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price; for (AE)I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God [g]that cost me nothing.” So (AF)David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 Then David built there an altar to the Lord, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And (AG)the Lord responded to prayer for the land, and the plague was [h]withdrawn from Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 24:6 Another reading is Kadesh in the land of the Hittite
- 2 Samuel 24:10 Lit struck
- 2 Samuel 24:10 Lit allow to pass
- 2 Samuel 24:15 Lit gave
- 2 Samuel 24:18 In 2 Chr 3:1, Ornan
- 2 Samuel 24:21 Or brought to a halt
- 2 Samuel 24:24 Lit gratuitously
- 2 Samuel 24:25 Or brought to a halt
2 Samuel 24
New Living Translation
David Takes a Census
24 Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him.
2 So the king said to Joab and the commanders[a] of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.”
3 But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?”
4 But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel. 5 First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the town in the valley, in the direction of Gad. Then they went on to Jazer, 6 then to Gilead in the land of Tahtim-hodshi[b] and to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon. 7 Then they came to the fortress of Tyre, and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went south to Judah[c] as far as Beersheba.
8 Having gone through the entire land for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem. 9 Joab reported the number of people to the king. There were 800,000 capable warriors in Israel who could handle a sword, and 500,000 in Judah.
Judgment for David’s Sin
10 But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.”
11 The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: 12 “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”
13 So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three[d] years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”
14 “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days.[e] A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south. 16 But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”
David Builds an Altar
18 That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him. 20 When Araunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. 21 “Why have you come, my lord the king?” Araunah asked.
David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.”
22 “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. 23 I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice.”
24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver[f] for the threshing floor and the oxen.
25 David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
Footnotes
- 24:2 As in Greek version (see also 24:4 and 1 Chr 21:2); Hebrew reads Joab the commander.
- 24:6 Greek version reads to Gilead and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites.
- 24:7 Or they went to the Negev of Judah.
- 24:13 As in Greek version (see also 1 Chr 21:12); Hebrew reads seven.
- 24:15 Hebrew for the designated time.
- 24:24 Hebrew 50 shekels of silver, about 20 ounces or 570 grams in weight.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
