2 Samuel 24:1–15

David’s Military Census

24The Lord’s anger burned against Israel again, and He stirred up David against them to say: “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.” ^d

²So the king said to Joab, the commander of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the troops so I can know their number.” ^e

³Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops 100 times more than they are ^f—while my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king want to do this?”

⁴Yet the king’s order prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army left the king’s presence to register the troops of Israel.

⁵They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, ^gsouth of the town in the middle of the valley, and then proceeded toward Gad and Jazer. ⁶They went to Gilead and to the land of the Hittites ^hand continued on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon. ⁷They went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Afterward, they went to the Negev of Judah at Beer-sheba.

⁸When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days. ⁹Joab gave the king the total of the registration of the troops. There were 800,000 fighting men from Israel and 500,000 men from Judah. ⁱ

¹⁰David’s conscience troubled him ^jafter he had taken a census of the troops. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I’ve done. Now, Lord, because I’ve been very foolish, ^kplease take away Your servant’s guilt.”

David’s Punishment

¹¹When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, ^lDavid’s seer: ^m12“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them, and I will do it to you.’ ”

¹³So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, “Do you want three ⁿyears of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, think it over and decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.”

¹⁴David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord’s hands because His mercies are great, ^obut don’t let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beer-sheba 70,000 men died.