2 Samuel 24

Modern

Literal

David’s Military Census

¹Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

¹And the anger of YHWH added to be hot against Israel, and He moved David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

²So the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him,^a “Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”

²And the king said to Joab the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go now throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan and to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

³But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

³And Joab said to the king, “And YHWH your God may add to the people, as they were and as they are a hundred times, and the eyes of my lord the king may see it. And my lord the king, why does this thing delight?”

⁴Nevertheless , the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army departed from the presence of the king to register the troops of Israel.

⁴And the word of the king prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. And Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.

⁵They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.

⁵And they passed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the city which is in the midst of the valley, toward Gad and to Jazer.

⁶Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim-hodshi,^a and on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.

⁶And they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon,

⁷They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah,^a to Beersheba.

⁷and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivite and the Canaanite, and they went out to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.

⁸At the end of nine months and twenty days, having gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem.

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

⁹And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.

⁹And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And in Israel there were eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

Judgment for David’s Sin

¹⁰After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

¹⁰And the heart of David condemned him after that he had numbered the people. And David said to YHWH, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. And, O YHWH, cause to pass, please, the iniquity of Your servant. For I have acted very foolishly.”

¹¹When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:

¹¹And David arose in the morning, and the word of YHWH came to Gad the prophet, seer of David, saying,

¹²“Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”

¹²“Go and tell to David, thus says YHWH: ‘Three things I offer you. Choose for yourself one of them, that I may do it to you.’”

¹³So Gad went and said to David, “Do you choose to endure three^a years of famine in your land, three months of fleeing the pursuit of your enemies, or three days of plague upon your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”

¹³And Gad came to David and told him, and he said to him, “Shall come three years of famine to you in your land, or shall you flee three months before your enemy and he pursues you, or shall there be three days plague in your land? Now consider and see what word I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

¹⁴And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall, please, into the hand of YHWH, for great are His mercies. And into the hand of man do not let me fall.”

A Plague on Israel

¹⁵So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.^a

¹⁵And YHWH sent a plague upon Israel from the morning and until the appointed time, and died of the people from Dan and to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

¹⁶But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah^a the Jebusite.

¹⁶And the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, and YHWH relented from the destruction, and He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Now restrain your hand!” And the angel of YHWH was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “Surely I, the shepherd,^a have sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand fall upon me and my father’s house.”

¹⁷And David spoke to YHWH when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and he said, “Behold, I, the shepherd, have sinned, and I have acted wickedly. And these sheep, what have they done? Please be Your hand against me and against the house of my father.”

David Builds an Altar

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

¹⁸And Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, raise to YHWH an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

¹⁹So David went up at the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded.

¹⁹And David went up according to the word of Gad, as YHWH had commanded.

²⁰When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, he went out and bowed facedown before the king.

²⁰And Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. And Araunah went out and bowed low before the king with his nose to the ground.

²¹“Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said.

“To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

²¹And Araunah said, “Why has my lord come the king to his servant?” And David said, “To buy from you the threshing floor to build an altar to YHWH, that the plague may be restrained from the people.”

²²Araunah said to David, “May my lord the king take whatever seems good to him and offer it up. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.

²²And Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever is good in his eyes. See the oxen for the burnt offering, and the threshing instruments, and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.

²³O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”

²³All these Araunah has given, O king, to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May YHWH your God accept you.”

²⁴“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.^a

²⁴And the king said to Araunah, “No, but I shall surely buy it from you for a price, and I will not offer to YHWH my God burnt offerings for nothing.” And David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

²⁵And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.

²⁵And David built there an altar to YHWH, and he offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings. And YHWH heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.