21Now ^aSatan stood up against Israel, and moved David to ¹number Israel. ²So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, ^band bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”

³And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”

⁴Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. ⁵Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. ⁶^cBut he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ²word was abominable to Joab.

⁷And ³God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. ⁸So David said to God, ^d“I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; ^ebut now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

⁹Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s ^fseer, saying, ¹⁰“Go and tell David, ^gsaying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”

¹¹So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, ¹²^heither ⁴three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord—the plague in the land, with the ⁵angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹³And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His ⁱmercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁴So the Lord sent a ^jplague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1take a census of
2command
3Lit. it was evil in the eyes of God
4seven, 2 Sam. 24:13
5Or Angel, and so throughout the chapter

Cross references

a 2 Sam. 24:1–25; Job 1:6
b 1 Chr. 27:23, 24
c 1 Chr. 27:24
d 2 Sam. 24:10
e 2 Sam. 12:13
f 1 Sam. 9:9; 2 Kin. 17:13; 1 Chr. 29:29; 2 Chr. 16:7, 10; Is. 30:9, 10; Amos 7:12, 13
g 2 Sam. 24:12–14
h 2 Sam. 24:13
i Ps. 51:1; 130:4, 7
j 1 Chr. 27:24