2 Samuel 24:11–17

¹¹And David riseth in the morning, and the word of Jehovah hath been unto Gad the prophet, seer of David, saying, ¹²‘Go, and thou hast spoken unto David, Thus said Jehovah: Three—I am lifting up for thee, choose thee one of them, and I do it to thee.’ ¹³And Gad cometh in unto David, and declareth to him, and saith to him, ‘Do seven years of famine come in to thee in thy land? or three months art thou fleeing before thine adversary—and he pursuing thee? or are three days’ pestilence in thy land? now, know and see what word I take back to Him sending me.’ ¹⁴And David saith unto Gad, ‘I have great distress, let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for many are His mercies, and into the hand of man let me not fall.’ ¹⁵And Jehovah giveth a pestilence on Israel from the morning even unto the time appointed, and there die of the people, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, seventy thousand men, ¹⁶and the messenger putteth forth his hand to Jerusalem to destroy it, and Jehovah repenteth concerning the evil, and saith to the messenger who is destroying among the people, ‘Enough, now, cease thy hand;’ and the messenger of Jehovah was near the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷And David speaketh unto Jehovah, when he seeth the messenger who is smiting among the people, and saith, ‘Lo, I have sinned, yea, I have done perversely; and these—the flock—what have they done? Let, I pray Thee, Thy hand be on me, and on the house of my father.’