Daily Bread

David Enrolls the Fighting Men^(A)

24 Again^(B) the anger of the Lord burned against Israel,^(C) and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of^(D) Israel and Judah.”

² So the king said to Joab^(E) and the army commanders^[a] with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba^(F) and enroll^(G) the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”

³ But Joab^(H) replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over,^(I) and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

⁴ The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

⁵ After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer,^(J) south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.^{(K) 6} They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.^{(L) 7} Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre^(M) and all the towns of the Hivites^(N) and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba^(O) in the Negev^(P) of Judah.

⁸ After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

⁹ Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.^(Q)

¹⁰ David was conscience-stricken^(R) after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned^(S) greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.^(T)”

¹¹ Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad^(U) the prophet, David’s seer:^{(V) 12} “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

¹³ So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three^[b] years of famine^(W) in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague^(X) in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

¹⁴ David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy^(Y) is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵ So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.^{(Z) 16} When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented^(AA) concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord^(AB) was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,^[c] have done wrong. These are but sheep.^(AC) What have they done?^(AD) Let your hand fall on me and my family.”^(AE)

David Builds an Altar^(AF)

¹⁸ On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah^(AG) the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. ²⁰ When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹ Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”^(AH)

²² Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen^(AI) for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. ²³ Your Majesty, Araunah^[d] gives^(AJ) all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

²⁴ But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”^(AK)

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels^[e](AL) of silver for them. ²⁵ David built an altar^(AM) to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer^(AN) in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.