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2 Samuel 24
Legacy Standard Bible
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
- 2 Samuel 24:2 Lit muster
- 2 Samuel 24:4 Lit muster
- 2 Samuel 24:6 Or Kadesh in the land of the Hittite
- 2 Samuel 24:9 Lit muster
- 2 Samuel 24:10 Lit cause to pass away
- 2 Samuel 24:15 Lit gave
- 2 Samuel 24:16 Or regretted, cf. 15:11, 29, 35
- 2 Samuel 24:18 In 2 Chr 3:1, Ornan
- 2 Samuel 24:24 Lit gratuitously
- 2 Samuel 24:24 A shekel was approx. 0.4 oz. or 11 gm
2 Samuel 24
Revised Geneva Translation
2 Samuel 24
Revised Geneva Translation
24 And the wrath of the LORD was again kindled against Israel. And He moved David against them, in that He said: “Go! Count Israel and Judah.”
2 So the king said to Joab, the captain of the army who was with him, “Go speedily now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, so that I may know the number of the people.”
3 And Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God increase the people a hundredfold more than they are. And may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?”
4 Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore, Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.
5 And they passed over Jordan and camped in Aroer, at the right side of the city that is in the midst of the Valley of Gad and toward Jazer.
6 Then they came to Gilead and to Tahtim Hodshi. So, they came to Dan Jaan, and so about to Sidon,
7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites and went toward the southern part of Judah, to Beersheba.
8 So when they had gone around all the land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 And Joab delivered the number and sum of the people to the king. And there were eight hundred thousand strong men who drew swords in Israel. And the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
10 Then David’s heart struck him, after he had counted the people. And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned exceedingly in what I have done! Therefore now, LORD, I pray, take away the trespass of Your servant! For I have done very foolishly!”
11 And when David was up 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: “I offer you three things. Choose for yourself which of them I shall do to you.”’”
13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Would you rather that seven years famine come upon you in your land, or would you rather flee for three months before your enemies (they following you) or that there were three days pestilence in my land? Now be advised and consider what answer I shall give to Him Who sent me.”
14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall now into the hand of the LORD (for His mercies are great) and let me not fall into the hand of man.”
15 So the LORD sent a pestilence in Israel, from the morning to the time appointed. And of the people from Dan to Beersheba, there died seventy thousand men.
16 And when the Angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem, to destroy it, the LORD relented and said to the Angel that destroyed the people: “It is sufficient. Restrain your hand now.” And the Angel of the LORD was by the threshing place of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 And David spoke to the LORD (when he saw the Angel that struck the people) and said, “Behold, I have sinned. Yea, I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, I pray, let Your hand be against me and against my father’s House.”
18 So the same day, Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up. Raise an Altar to the LORD in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 And David (according to the saying of Gad) went up, as the LORD had Commanded.
20 And Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. And Araunah went out and bowed himself before the king, on his face, to the ground.
21 And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Then David answered, “To buy your threshing floor in order to build an Altar to the LORD, so that the plague may cease from the people.”
22 Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer what seems good to him in his eyes. Behold the oxen for the Burnt Offering, and chariots and the instruments of the oxen for wood.”
23 (All these things Araunah gave to the king, as a king.) And Araunah said to the king, “The LORD your God be favorable to you.”
24 Then the king said to Araunah, “Not so. But I will buy it from you at a price and will not offer Burnt Offering to the LORD my God of that which cost me nothing.” So, David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built an Altar to the LORD there and offered Burnt Offerings and Peace Offerings. And the LORD was appeased toward the land. And the plague ceased from Israel.
2 Samuel 24
New International Version
2 Samuel 24
New International Version
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.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 24:2 Septuagint (see also verse 4 and 1 Chron. 21:2); Hebrew Joab the army commander
- 2 Samuel 24:13 Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 21:12); Hebrew seven
- 2 Samuel 24:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have the shepherd.
- 2 Samuel 24:23 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts King Araunah
- 2 Samuel 24:24 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
2 Samuel 24
New King James Version
2 Samuel 24
New King James Version
David’s Census of Israel and Judah(A)
24 Again (B)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, (C)“Go, [a]number Israel and Judah.”
2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, (D)from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that (E)I may know the number of the people.”
3 And Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God (F)add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” 4 Nevertheless the king’s word [b]prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.
5 And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in (G)Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward (H)Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to (I)Dan Jaan and around to (J)Sidon; 7 and they came to the stronghold of (K)Tyre and to all the cities of the (L)Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. (M)And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
The Judgment on David’s Sin(N)
10 And (O)David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So (P)David said to the Lord, (Q)“I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have (R)done very foolishly.”
11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet (S)Gad, David’s (T)seer, saying, 12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall (U)seven[c] years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”
14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, (V)for His mercies are great; but (W)do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
15 So (X)the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 16 (Y)And when the [d]angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, (Z)the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of [e]Araunah the Jebusite.
17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely (AA)I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”
The Altar on the Threshing Floor(AB)
18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, (AC)“Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. 20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.
21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”
(AD)And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that (AE)the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
22 Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. (AF)Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. 23 All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”
And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God (AG)accept you.”
24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So (AH)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. (AI)So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and (AJ)the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 24:1 take a census of
- 2 Samuel 24:4 overruled
- 2 Samuel 24:13 So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX three (cf. 1 Chr. 21:12)
- 2 Samuel 24:16 Or Angel
- 2 Samuel 24:16 Ornan, 1 Chr. 21:15
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
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Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.