^24:1The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.”¹^24:2The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”

^24:3Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?”

^24:4But the king’s edict stood, despite the objections of² Joab and the leaders of the army. So Joab and the leaders of the army left the king’s presence in order to muster the Israelite army.

^24:5They crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, on the south side of the city, at³ the wadi of Gad, near Jazer. ^24:6Then they went on to Gilead and to the region of Tahtim Hodshi, coming to Dan Jaan and on around to Sidon.⁴^24:7Then they went to the fortress of Tyre⁵ and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beer Sheba. ^24:8They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem.⁶

^24:9Joab reported the number of warriors⁷ to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.

^24:10David felt guilty⁸ after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

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Footnotes

1 The parallel text in 1 Chr 21:1 says, “An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.” The Samuel version gives an underlying theological perspective, while the Chronicler simply describes what happened from a human perspective. The adversary in 1 Chr 21:1 is likely a human enemy, probably a nearby nation whose hostility against Israel pressured David into numbering the people so he could assess his military strength. See the note at .
2 Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than.”
3 Heb “in the middle of.”
4 For location see ; ; .
5 For location see ; ; ; ; .
6 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
7 Heb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.”
8 Heb “and the heart of David struck him.”