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
- 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 Samuel 24:4 tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than.”
- 2 Samuel 24:5 tn Heb “in the middle of.”
- 2 Samuel 24:9 tn Heb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.”
- 2 Samuel 24:10 tn Heb “and the heart of David struck him.”
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 24:13 tn Heb “now know and see.”
- 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.”
- 2 Samuel 24:16 tn Heb “messenger.”
- 2 Samuel 24:16 tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”
- 2 Samuel 24:16 tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”
- 2 Samuel 24:17 tn Heb “let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.”
- 2 Samuel 24:20 tn Heb “Araunah.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
- 2 Samuel 24:20 tn Heb “nostrils.”
- 2 Samuel 24:22 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 24:22 tn Heb “the equipment of the oxen.”
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 24:24 tn Heb “fifty shekels of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.
2 Samuel 24
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 a hundred 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 twenty days. 9 Joab gave the king the total of the registration of the troops. There were eight hundred thousand valiant armed men[b] from Israel and five hundred thousand 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, the word of 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[c] 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, consider carefully[d] 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 seventy thousand 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[e] 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[f] 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 paid homage 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[g] and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.(P) 23 Your Majesty, 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 twenty ounces[h] of silver. 25 He built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord was receptive to prayer for the land,(Q) and the plague on Israel ended.
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