2 Samuel 24 (NET)

David Displeases the Lord by Taking a Census

1 The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.”1 2 The 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.”

3 Joab 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?”

4 But 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.

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

9 Joab 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.

10 David 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.”

11 When David got up the next morning, the Lord had already spoken9 to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: 12 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.’”

13 Gad went to David and told him, “Shall seven10 years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide11 what I should tell the one who sent me.” 14 David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!”12

15 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba. 16 When the angel13 extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment.14 He told the angel who was killing the people, “That’s enough! Stop now!”15 (Now the Lord’s angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)

17 When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, “Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep – what have they done? Attack me and my family.”16

David Acquires a Threshing Floor and Constructs an Altar There

18 So Gad went to David that day and told him, “Go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do, according to the Lord’s instructions.

20 When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants approaching him, he17 went out and bowed to the king with his face18 to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people.” 22 Araunah told David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wishes19 and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges20 and harnesses21 for wood. 23 I, the servant of my lord22 the king, give it all to the king!” Araunah also told the king, “May the Lord your God show you favor!” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you! I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver.23 25 Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.

1sn 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 1 Chr 21:1. 2tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than.” 3tn Heb “in the middle of.” 4map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3. 5map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3. 6map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 7tn Heb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.” 8tn Heb “and the heart of David struck him.” 9tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came.” 10tc The LXX has here “three” rather than “seven,” and is followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT. See 1 Chr 21:12. 11tn Heb “now know and see.” 12tn Heb “There is great distress to me. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for great is his mercy, but into the hand of man let me not fall.” 13tn Heb “messenger.” 14tn Heb “concerning the calamity.” 15tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.” 16tn Heb “let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.” 17tn Heb “Araunah.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons. 18tn Heb “nostrils.” 19tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.” 20sn Threshing sledges were heavy boards used in ancient times for loosening grain from husks. On the bottom sides of these boards sharp stones were embedded, and the boards were then dragged across the grain on a threshing floor by an ox or donkey. 21tn Heb “the equipment of the oxen.” 22tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation reads עֶבֶד אֲדֹנָי (’eved ’adoni, “the servant of my lord”) rather than the MT’s אֲרַוְנָה (’Aravnah). In normal court etiquette a subject would not use his own name in this way, but would more likely refer to himself in the third person. The MT probably first sustained loss of עֶבֶד (’eved, “servant”), leading to confusion of the word for “my lord” with the name of the Jebusite referred to here. 23tn Heb “fifty shekels of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.