2 Samuel 24:5–15

⁵And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in ^fAroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward ^gJazer. ⁶Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to ^hDan Jaan and around to ⁱSidon; ⁷and they came to the stronghold of ^jTyre and to all the cities of the ^kHivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. ⁸So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. ^lAnd there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

The Judgment on David’s Sin

¹⁰And ^mDavid’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So ⁿDavid said to the Lord, ^o“I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have ^pdone very foolishly.”

¹¹Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^qGad, David’s ^rseer, saying, ¹²“Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” ¹³So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall ^sseven ³years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, ^tfor His mercies are great; but ^udo not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁵So ^vthe Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died.