David Enrolls the Fighting Men

24:1–17pp—1Ch 21:1–17

24 Againh the anger of the Lord burned against Israel,i and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census ofj Israel and Judah.”

2 So the king said to Joabk and the army commandersa with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beershebal and enrollm the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”

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

4 The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

5 After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer,p south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.q 6 They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.r 7 Then they went toward the fortress of Tyres and all the towns of the Hivitest and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beershebau in the Negevv of Judah.

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

9 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.w

10 David was conscience-strickenx after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinnedy greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.z”

11 Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gada the prophet, David’s seer:b 12 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’ ”

13 So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you threeb years of faminec in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plagued in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

14 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercye is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.f 16 When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relentedg concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lordh was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,c have done wrong. These are but sheep.i What have they done?j Let your hand fall on me and my family.”k

David Builds an Altar

24:18–25pp—1Ch 21:18–26

18 On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunahl the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20 When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

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

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”m

22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxenn for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 Your Majesty, Araunahd giveso all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”p

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekelse q of silver for them. 25 David built an altarr to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayers in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

David and Mephibosheth

9 David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”g

2 Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba.h They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan;i he is lamej in both feet.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makirk son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.l

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan.m I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.n”

8 Mephiboshetho bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dogp like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandsonq may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’sa table like one of the king’s sons.r

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth.s 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

David Defeats the Ammonites

10:1–19pp—1Ch 19:1–19

10 In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash,t just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it outu and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard,v cut off their garments at the buttocks,w and sent them away.

5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxiousx to David, they hired twenty thousand Arameany foot soldiers from Beth Rehobz and Zobah,a as well as the king of Maakahb with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.c

7 On hearing this, David sent Joabd out with the entire army of fighting men. 8 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.

9 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 10 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishaie his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. 11 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. 12 Be strong,f and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”g

13 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. 14 When the Ammonitesh realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

15 After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River; they went to Helam, with Shobak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

17 When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him. 18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers.a He also struck down Shobak the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed …