⁹ Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair^(A) got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.

¹⁰ When one of the men saw what had happened, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”

¹¹ Joab said to the man who had told him this, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike^(B) him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels^[a] of silver and a warrior’s belt.^(C)”

¹² But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels^[b] were weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.^[c]’ ¹³ And if I had put my life in jeopardy^[d]—and nothing is hidden from the king^(D)—you would have kept your distance from me.”

¹⁴ Joab^(E) said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree.

David Enrolls the Fighting Men^(A)

24 Again^(B) the anger of the Lord burned against Israel,^(C) and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of^(D) Israel and Judah.”

² So the king said to Joab^(E) and the army commanders^[a] with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba^(F) and enroll^(G) the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”

³ But Joab^(H) replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over,^(I) and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

⁴ The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

⁵ After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer,^(J) south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.^{(K) 6} They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.^{(L) 7} Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre^(M) and all the towns of the Hivites^(N) and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba^(O) in the Negev^(P) of Judah.

⁸ After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹ Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.^(Q)

¹⁰ David was conscience-stricken^(R) after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned^(S) greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.^(T)”

¹¹ Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad^(U) the prophet, David’s seer:^{(V) 12} “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

¹³ So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three^[b] years of famine^(W) in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague^(X) in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

¹⁴ David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy^(Y) is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵ So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.^{(Z) 16} When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented^(AA) concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord^(AB) was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,^[c] have done wrong. These are but sheep.^(AC) What have they done?^(AD) Let your hand fall on me and my family.”^(AE)

David Builds an Altar^(AF)

¹⁸ On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah^(AG) the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. ²⁰ When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹ Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”^(AH)

²² Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen^(AI) for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. ²³ Your Majesty, Araunah^[d] gives^(AJ) all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

²⁴ But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”^(AK)

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels^[e](AL) of silver for them. ²⁵ David built an altar^(AM) to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer^(AN) in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman^(A)

²¹ When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake,^(B) a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.^{(C) 22} Then one of the synagogue leaders,^(D) named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. ²³ He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on^(E) her so that she will be healed and live.” ²⁴ So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. ²⁵ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding^(F) for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷ When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes,^(G) I will be healed.” ²⁹ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.^(H)

³⁰ At once Jesus realized that power^(I) had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹ “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

³² But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³ Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.^(J) Go in peace^(K) and be freed from your suffering.”

³⁵ While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader.^(L) “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶ Overhearing^[a] what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

³⁷ He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.^{(M) 38} When they came to the home of the synagogue leader,^(N) Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹ He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”^{(O) 40} But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand^(P) and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).^{(Q) 42} Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. ⁴³ He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this,^(R) and told them to give her something to eat.