2 Samuel 24:11–17

¹¹When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to ^athe prophet Gad, David’s ^bseer, saying,

¹²“Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the Lord says, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.” ’ ”

¹³So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall ^aseven 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 consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord ^afor His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

Pestilence Sent

¹⁵So ^athe Lord ¹sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people ^bfrom Dan to Beersheba died.

^16aWhen the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, ^bthe Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, ^ait is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but ^bthese sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”