2 Samuel 24
Revised Standard Version
David’s Census of Israel and Judah
24 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Jo′ab and the commanders of the army,[a] who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3 But Jo′ab said to the king, “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 still see it; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” 4 But the king’s word prevailed against Jo′ab and the commanders of the army. So Jo′ab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan, and began from Aro′er,[b] and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead, and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites;[c] and they came to Dan, and from Dan[d] they went around to Sidon, 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beer-sheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Jo′ab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand.
Judgment on David’s Sin
10 But David’s heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, I pray thee, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.” 11 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer[e] you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three[f] years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”
15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time; and there died of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men. 16 And when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented of the evil, and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Arau′nah the Jeb′usite. 17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was smiting the people, and said, “Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me and against my father’s house.”
David’s Altar on the Threshing Floor
18 And Gad came that day to David, and said to him, “Go up, rear an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Arau′nah the Jeb′usite.” 19 So David went up at Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded. 20 And when Arau′nah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him; and Arau′nah went forth, and did obeisance to the king with his face to the ground. 21 And Arau′nah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor of you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be averted from the people.” 22 Then Arau′nah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him; here are the oxen for the burnt offering, and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 All this, O king, Arau′nah gives to the king.” And Arau′nah said to the king, “The Lord your God accept you.” 24 But the king said to Arau′nah, “No, but I will buy it of you for a price; I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded supplications for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 24:2 1 Chr 21.2 Gk: Heb to Joab the commander of the army
- 2 Samuel 24:5 Gk: Heb encamped in Aroer
- 2 Samuel 24:6 Gk: Heb to the land of Tahtim-hodshi
- 2 Samuel 24:6 Cn Compare Gk: Heb they came to Dan-jaan and
- 2 Samuel 24:12 Or hold over
- 2 Samuel 24:13 1 Chr 21.12 Gk: Heb seven
2 Samuel 24
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Census
24 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel again, and he incited David against them so that he said, “Go count Israel and Judah.”
2 The king said to Joab, the commander of his army, “Travel through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the fighting men. Then I will know how many there are.”
3 Joab said to the king, “The Lord your God will make the people a hundred times larger, however many they may be, and the eyes of my lord the king will see it. But why does my lord the king have such a strong desire to do this?”
4 But the word of the king overruled Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer on the south side of the city that is in the middle of the canyon. Next they went to Gad and then to Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi. After that, they came to Dan Ja’an and around to Sidon. 7 Then they came to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. After that they went out to the Negev of Judah at Beersheba.
8 So they went throughout all the land, and then came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 Joab reported the numbers from the registration of the fighting men to the king. Israel had eight hundred thousand soldiers who could draw a sword. Judah had five hundred thousand men.
10 David had a guilty conscience after he had counted the fighting men. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But, Lord, please take away the guilt of your servant, because I have acted very foolishly.”
11 When David got up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to Gad the prophet, David’s seer. The Lord said, 12 “Go tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says. I am laying out three choices before you. Choose one of them for yourself, and I will carry it out against you.’”
13 So Gad went to David and told him about this. He said, “Shall seven[a] years of famine in your land come upon you, or three months of fleeing with your enemies pursuing you, or three days of plague[b] in your land? Now consider this and decide what answer I should return to the one who sent me.”
14 David said to Gad, “This puts me in a difficult position. Please! Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great. But do not let me fall into the hands of man.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague against Israel from the next morning until the appointed time. Seventy thousand people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 The angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, but the Lord relented and did not bring the disaster. He said to the angel who was carrying out the destruction among the people, “Enough. Now hold back your hand.”
The angel of the Lord was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 David said to the Lord, as he was watching the angel striking the people, “Look! I am the one who sinned. I am guilty. But these sheep—what have they done? Please! Let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.”
David Builds an Altar to the Lord
18 Gad came to David on that day 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 and obeyed Gad’s instructions as the Lord had commanded.
20 Araunah looked up and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed down to the king with his face to the ground, 21 and he said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”
David said, “To purchase the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, so the plague will be held back from the people.”
22 Araunah said to David, “My lord the king can take it and offer whatever seems good to him. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, as well as the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 O King, Araunah is giving all this to the king.” Araunah also said to the king, “The Lord your God will accept you.”
24 But the king said to Araunah, “No. I insist on purchasing it from you for what it is worth. I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that I did not pay for.”
So David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.[c] 25 He built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings there. The Lord heard the requests for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 24:13 Seven years is the reading of the Hebrew text. The Greek text reads three years, which matches the number in the other two options. In 1 Chronicles 21:12, it reads three years.
- 2 Samuel 24:13 Or deadly disease
- 2 Samuel 24:24 More than a pound
2 Samuel 24
Nueva Biblia Viva
David hace un censo militar
24 Una vez más la ira del Señor se encendió contra Israel, e incitó a David a hacer un censo nacional.
2 El rey dijo a Joab, jefe de su ejército:
―Toma un censo de todo el pueblo, de uno a otro extremo de la nación, para que yo sepa con cuántos soldados puedo contar.
3 Pero Joab le replicó:
―Que el Señor le conceda larga vida a mi señor el rey para que pueda ver el día en que haya en su reino cien veces más habitantes de los que ahora hay; pero ¿qué necesidad tiene de hacer tal cosa?
4 Pero la orden del rey fue más fuerte que la oposición de Joab y los demás jefes del ejército. Por eso, Joab y los demás oficiales salieron a contar al pueblo de Israel. 5 Cruzaron el Jordán y acamparon en Aroer, al sur de la ciudad que queda en el valle de Gad, junto a Jazer. 6 Luego pasaron a Galaad y a la región de Tajtín Jodsí, y siguieron hacia Dan Jaán y llegaron a los alrededores de Sidón. 7 De allí pasaron a la fortaleza de Tiro y a todas las ciudades de los heveos y cananeos, y avanzaron por el sur de Judá hasta llegar a Berseba.
8 Recorrer todo el territorio les llevó nueve meses y veinte días. Al cabo de ese tiempo, regresaron a Jerusalén. 9 Joab informó el número del pueblo al rey: Ochocientos mil hombres en edad militar en Israel, y quinientos mil en Judá.
10 Pero después que levantó el censo, la conciencia de David comenzó a molestarle, y oró al Señor: «Lo que he hecho es terrible. Perdóname, Señor, la maldad que he cometido».
11 Al día siguiente, el Señor habló con el profeta Gad, que era el profeta que atendía a David, y le pidió que le llevara este mensaje a David: 12 «Dile a David que escoja entre estos tres castigos». 13 Entonces Gad fue a ver a David y le dijo:
―¿Qué prefieres: siete años de hambre en la tierra, o huir tres meses delante de tus enemigos, o tres días de epidemia? Piénsalo y hazme saber la respuesta que le debo dar al Señor.
14 ―Es una decisión difícil —respondió David—, pero es mejor caer en las manos del Señor, porque grande es su misericordia, que en manos de los hombres.
15 Entonces el Señor envió una epidemia sobre Israel aquella mañana, la cual duró tres días. Setenta mil hombres murieron a través de la nación. 16 Pero cuando el ángel de la muerte se preparaba para destruir a Jerusalén, el Señor se apiadó y le dijo que se detuviera. El ángel estaba en el campo de Arauna el jebuseo.
17 Cuando David vio al ángel, le dijo al Señor: «Yo soy el que ha pecado. ¿Qué han hecho estas ovejas? ¡Que tu ira se encienda solamente contra mí y contra mi familia!».
David construye un altar
18 Aquel día, Gad vino ante David y le dijo: «Sube y edifica un altar al Señor en el campo de Arauna el jebuseo».
19 David hizo lo que el Señor le había ordenado a través de Gad. 20 Cuando Arauna vio que el rey y sus hombres se le acercaban, les salió a su encuentro y se postró hasta tocar el suelo con su frente.
21 ―¿A qué ha venido, mi señor rey? —preguntó Arauna.
Y David le respondió:
―A comprarte el campo, para edificar un altar al Señor, pues sólo así él detendrá la plaga.
22 ―Tómelo, mi señor —le dijo Arauna al rey—. Aquí tiene bueyes para el holocausto. Además, puede usar los instrumentos de la trilla y los yugos de los bueyes como leña, para encender el fuego en el altar. 23 Todo se lo doy, y que el Señor acepte su sacrificio.
24 Pero el rey le dijo a Arauna:
―No, no acepto el campo como regalo. Lo compraré, porque no quiero ofrecer al Señor mi Dios holocaustos que no me hayan costado nada.
Acto seguido, David le dio a Arauna cincuenta monedas de plata, como pago por el campo y los bueyes. 25 Allí David edificó un altar al Señor y ofreció holocaustos y ofrendas de paz. Y el Señor respondió a su oración, y la plaga se detuvo.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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