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.”