2 Samuel 24:11-17
The Voice
11 When David rose the next morning, he was met by the prophet Gad, David’s seer, who had received a message from the Eternal.
Gad: 12-13 I am supposed to tell you this: “The Eternal says, ‘I will offer you three choices. Pick one, and that will be what I will do to you.’”
Do you want to have seven[a] years of famine in the land? Would you rather be on the run from your enemies for three months? Or shall a plague rage for three days through the land? Make a choice, and tell me what answer to give to the One who sent me.
David: 14 This is horrible! But I would rather fall by the hand of the Eternal, because He is merciful, than fall into human hands.
15 So the Eternal One sent a great plague that morning and for three days. It swept through Israel from Dan in the far north to Beersheba in the desert south, killing 70,000 people. 16 But when the heavenly messenger prepared to destroy Jerusalem, He relented; and He commanded the heavenly messenger who had brought the epidemic.
Eternal One: Stop. That is enough.
The heavenly messenger then paused beside the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite; 17 and when David saw him there, the one striking the people, he spoke to the Eternal One.
David: Look, I am the one who offended You, the only one who has done wrong. What have these innocent sheep done? If someone is going to be punished for what I did, it should be me and my family. Punish us.
Footnotes
- 24:12-13 Greek manuscripts read, “three.”
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
