2 Samuel 24:1-10

Expanded Bible

David Counts His Army^(A)

24 The ·Lord was angry with [^Langer of the Lord burned against; ^Ccompare 1 Chr. 21:1] Israel again, and he ·caused [incited] David to turn against the Israelites. He said, “Go, ·count [number; take a census of] the people of Israel and Judah.”

² So King David said to Joab, the commander of the army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba [^Cthe far north and south of Israel], and ·count [take a census of; register; number] the people. Then I will know how many there are.”

³ But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God give you a hundred times more ·people [soldiers], and may my master the king live to see this happen. ·Why do you [^LBut why does my lord the king] want to do this?”

⁴ But the ·king commanded [^Lking’s word overruled/prevailed against] Joab and the commanders of the army, so they left the king to ·count [take a census of; register; number] the Israelites [^Ctaking the census indicates David’s ungodly dependence on the number of his troops].

⁵ After crossing the Jordan River, they camped near Aroer on the south side of the city in the ·ravine [valley]. They went through Gad and on to Jazer. ⁶ Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim Hodshi and to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon. ⁷ They went to the ·strong, walled city [fortress] of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went to ·southern [^Lthe Negev of] Judah, to Beersheba. ⁸ After nine months and twenty days, they had gone through all the land. Then they came back to Jerusalem.

⁹ Joab ·gave the list of the people [reported the number of soldiers] to the king. There were eight hundred thousand men in Israel who could ·use [draw; handle] the sword and five hundred thousand men in Judah.

¹⁰ ·David felt ashamed [^LDavid’s heart/conscience troubled him] after he had ·counted [taken a census of; registered; numbered] the people. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by what I have done. Lord, I beg you to ·forgive me, [^Ltake away the guilt/iniquity of] your servant, because I have been very foolish.”