David’s Military Census 2 Samuel 24:1–10 1 2 Samuel 24:1. Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”2 2 Samuel 24:2. So the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him, “Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”3 2 Samuel 24:3. But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, 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 2 Samuel 24:4. Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army departed from the presence of the king to register the troops of Israel.5 2 Samuel 24:5. They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.6 2 Samuel 24:6. Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.7 2 Samuel 24:7. They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.8 2 Samuel 24:8. At the end of nine months and twenty days, having gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem.9 2 Samuel 24:9. And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.10 2 Samuel 24:10. After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
David’s Punishment 2 Samuel 24:11–17 11 2 Samuel 24:11. When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:12 2 Samuel 24:12. “Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”13 2 Samuel 24:13. So Gad went and said to David, “Do you choose to endure three years of famine in your land, three months of fleeing the pursuit of your enemies, or three days of plague upon your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”14 2 Samuel 24:14. David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”15 2 Samuel 24:15. So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.16 2 Samuel 24:16. But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.17 2 Samuel 24:17. When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “Surely I, the shepherd, have sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand fall upon me and my father’s house.”
David’s Altar 2 Samuel 24:18 18 2 Samuel 24:18. And that day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”19 2 Samuel 24:19. So David went up at the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded.20 2 Samuel 24:20. When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, he went out and bowed facedown before the king.21 2 Samuel 24:21. “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said. “To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”22 2 Samuel 24:22. Araunah said to David, “May my lord the king take whatever seems good to him and offer it up. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.23 2 Samuel 24:23. O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”24 2 Samuel 24:24. “No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.25 2 Samuel 24:25. And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.
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Pray with this chapter A short prayer for the reader. This is not Scripture and is kept distinct from the Berean text.
Father, as we read 2 Samuel 24 (David’s Military Census), give us a quiet heart, a willing mind, and the grace to live what you show us. Amen.
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