II Samuel 24

¹Again the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and moving David against them, he said, Go, take the number of Israel and Judah.

²And the king said to Joab and the captains of the army, who were with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan as far as Beer-sheba, and have all the people numbered, so that I may be certain of the number of the people.

³And Joab said to the king, Whatever the number of the people, may the Lord make it a hundred times as much, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why does my lord the king take pleasure in doing this thing?

⁴But the king's order was stronger than Joab and the captains of the army. And Joab and the captains of the army went out from the king, to take the number of the children of Israel.

⁵And they went over Jordan, and starting from Aroer, from the town which is in the middle of the valley, they went in the direction of the Gadites, and on to Jazer;

⁶Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of the Hittites under Hermon; and they came to Dan, and from Dan they came round to Zidon,

⁷And to the walled town of Tyre, and to all the towns of the Hivites and the Canaanites: and they went out to the South of Judah at Beer-sheba.

⁸So after going through all the land in every direction, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹And Joab gave the king the number of all the people: there were in Israel eight hundred thousand fighting men able to take up arms; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand.

¹⁰And after the people had been numbered, David's heart was troubled. And David said to the Lord, Great has been my sin in doing this; but now, O Lord, be pleased to take away the sin of your servant, for I have done very foolishly

¹¹And David got up in the morning; now the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,

¹²Go and say to David, The Lord says, Three things are offered to you: say which of them you will have, and I will do it to you.

¹³So Gad came to David, and gave him word of this and said to him, Are there to be three years when there is not enough food in your land? or will you go in flight from your haters for three months, while they go after you? or will you have three days of violent disease in your land? take thought and say what answer I am to give to him who sent me.

¹⁴And David said to Gad, This is a hard decision for me to make: let us come into the hands of the Lord, for great are his mercies: let me not come into the hands of men.

¹⁵So David made selection of the disease; and the time was the days of the grain-cutting, when the disease came among the people, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan as far as Beer-sheba.

¹⁶And when the hand of the angel was stretched out in the direction of Jerusalem, for its destruction, the Lord had regret for the evil, and said to the angel who was sending destruction on the people, It is enough; do no more. And the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷And when David saw the angel who was causing the destruction of the people, he said to the Lord, Truly, the sin is mine; I have done wrong: but these are only sheep; what have they done? let your hand be against me and against my family.

¹⁸And that day Gad came to David and said to him, Go up, and put up an altar to the Lord on the grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁹So David went up, as Gad had said and as the Lord had given orders.

²⁰And Araunah, looking out, saw the king and his servants coming to him: and Araunah went out, and went down on his face to the earth before the king.

²¹And Araunah said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To give you a price for your grain-floor, so that I may put up an altar to the Lord, and the disease may be stopped among the people.

²²And Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take whatever seems right to him, and make an offering of it: see, here are the oxen for the burned offering, and the grain-cleaning instruments and the ox-yokes for wood:

²³All this does the servant of my lord the king give to the king. And Araunah said, May the Lord your God be pleased with your offering!

²⁴And the king said to Araunah, No, but I will give you a price for it; I will not give to the Lord my God burned offerings for which I have given nothing. So David got the grain-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

²⁵And there David put up an altar to the Lord, making burned offerings and peace-offerings. So the Lord gave ear to his prayer for the land, and the disease came to an end in Israel.

II Samuel 24

¹Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, "Go, number Israel and Judah."

²The king said to Joab the captain of the army, who was with him, "Now go back and forth through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the sum of the people."

³Joab said to the king, "Now may the Lord your God add to the people, however many they may be, one hundred times; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king delight in this thing?"

⁴Notwithstanding, the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the army. Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.

⁵They passed over the Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and to Jazer:

⁶then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; and they came to Dan Jaan, and around to Sidon,

⁷and came to the stronghold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites; and they went out to the south of Judah, at Beersheba.

⁸So when they had gone back and forth through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹Joab gave up the sum of the numbering 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.

¹⁰David's heart struck him after that he had numbered the people. David said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly in that which I have done. But now, Lord, put away, I beg you, the iniquity of your servant; for I have done very foolishly."

¹¹When David rose up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,

¹²"Go and speak to David, 'Thus says the Lord, "I offer you three things. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you."'"

¹³So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now answer, and consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me."

¹⁴David said to Gad, "I am in distress. Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great. Let me not fall into the hand of man."

¹⁵So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning even to the appointed time; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

¹⁶When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough. Now stay your hand." The angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who struck the people, and said, "Behold, I have sinned, and I have done perversely; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me, and against my father's house."

¹⁸Gad came that day to David, and said to him, "Go up, build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

¹⁹David went up according to the saying of Gad, as the Lord commanded.

²⁰Araunah looked out, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. Then Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy your threshing floor, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be stopped from afflicting the people."

²²Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Behold, the cattle for the burnt offering, and the threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for the wood:

²³all this, king, does Araunah give to the king." Araunah said to the king, "May the Lord your God accept you."

²⁴The king said to Araunah, "No; but I will most certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

²⁵David built an altar to the Lord there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.