2 Samuel 24

Davids Census of Israel and Judah

1 Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, Go, 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, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.3 And Joab said to the king, Now may the Lord your God 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 kings 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 crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer.6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon;7 and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the 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. 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 Davids Sin

10 And Davids heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, 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 done very foolishly.11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, Davids 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 seven 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, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.15 So 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 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, 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 Araunah the Jebusite.17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, Surely 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 fathers house.

The Altar on the Threshing Floor

18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, 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? And David said, To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that 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. 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 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 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 the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

2 SAMUEL 24

David Counts the People

(1 Chronicles 21.1-6)

1 The [Lord] was angry with Israel again, and he made David think it would be a good idea to count the people in Israel and Judah.

2 So David told Joab and the army officers, t “Go to every tribe in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north all the way south to Beersheba, and count everyone who can serve in the army. I want to know how many there are.”

3 Joab answered, “I hope the [Lord] your God will give you 100 times more soldiers than you already have. I hope you will live to see that day! But why do you want to do a thing like this?”
4 But when David refused to change his mind, Joab and the army officers went out and started counting the people. 5 They crossed the Jordan River and began witht Aroer and the town in the middle of the river valley. From there they went toward Gad and on as far as Jazer. 6 They went to Gilead and to Kadesh in Syria.t Then they went to Dan, Ijon, t and on toward Sidon. 7 They came to the fortress of Tyre, then went through every town of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Finally, they went to Beersheba in the Southern Desert of Judah.

8 After they had gone through the whole land, they went back to Jerusalem. It had taken them 9 months and 20 days.

9 Joab came and told David, “In Israel there are 800,000 who can serve in the army, and in Judah there are 500,000.”

The [Lord] Punishes David

(1 Chronicles 21.7-17)

10 After everyone had been counted, David realized he had done wrong. He told the [Lord], “What I did was stupid and terribly wrong. [Lord], please forgive me.”
11 Before David even got up the next morning, the [Lord] had told David's prophet Gad

12-13 to take a message to David. Gad went to David and told him:
You must choose one of three ways for the [Lord] to punish you: Will there be sevent years when the land won't grow enough food for your people? Or will your enemies chase you and make you run from them for three months? Or will there be three days of horrible disease in your land? Think about it and decide, because I have to give your answer to God, who sent me.

14 David was really frightened and said, “It's a terrible choice to make! But the [Lord] is kind, and I'd rather be punished by him than by anyone else.”

15-16 So that morning, the [Lord] sent an angel to spread a horrible disease everywhere in Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. And before it was over, 70,000 people had died.
When the angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the [Lord] felt sorry for all the suffering he had caused and told the angel, “That's enough! Don't touch them.” This happened at the threshing place that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.

17 David saw the angel killing everyone and told the [Lord], “These people are like sheep with me as their shepherd.t I have sinned terribly, but they have done nothing wrong. Please, punish me and my family instead of them!”

David Buys Araunah's //Threshing Place

(1 Chronicles 21.18—22.1)

18-19 That same day the prophet Gad came and told David, “Go to the threshing place that belongs to Araunah and build an altar there for the [Lord].”
So David went.
20 Araunah looked and saw David and his soldiers coming up toward him. He went over to David, bowed down low,

21 and said, “Your Majesty! Why have you come to see me?”
David answered, “I've come to buy your threshing place. I have to build the [Lord] an altar here, so this disease will stop killing the people.”
22 Araunah said, “Take whatever you want and offer your sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the sacrifice. You can use the threshing-boardst and the wooden yokes for the fire.

23 Take them—they're yours! I hope the [Lord] your God will be pleased with you.”
24 But David answered, “No! I have to pay you what they're worth. I can't offer the [Lord] my God a sacrifice that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing place and the oxen for 50 pieces of silver.

25 Then he built an altar for the [Lord]. He offered sacrifices to please the [Lord] and to ask for his blessings.
The [Lord] answered the prayers of the people, and no one else died from the terrible disease.