2 Samuel 24

1 And the fury of the Lord was again kindled against Israel, and he stirred up David among them, saying: “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, "Go, number Israel and Judah."

2 And the king said to Joab, the leader of his army, “Travel through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know their number.”

The king said to Joab and the captains of the army, who were with him, "Now go back and forth through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the sum of the people."

3 And Joab said to the king: “May the Lord your God increase your people, who are already great in number, and may he again increase them, one hundredfold, in the sight of my lord the king. But what does my lord the king intend for himself by this kind of thing?”

Joab said to the king, "Now may the LORD your God add to the people, however many they may be, one hundred times; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king delight in this thing?"

4 But the words of the king prevailed over the words of Joab and the leaders of the army. And so Joab and the leaders of the military departed from the face of the king, so that they might number the people of Israel.

Notwithstanding, the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the army. Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king, to number the children of Israel.

5 And when they had passed across the Jordan, they arrived at Aroer, to the right of the city, which is in the Valley of Gad.

They crossed over the Jordan and began at Aroer, and from the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad; then on to Jazer.

6 And they continued on through Jazer, into Gilead, and to the lower land of Hodsi. And they arrived in the woodlands of Dan. And going around beside Sidon,

Then they came to Gilead, and to the region of the Hethites, to Kedesh; and they came to Dan, and around to Sidon,

7 they passed near the walls of Tyre, and near all the land of the Hivite and the Canaanite. And they went into the south of Judah, to Beersheba.

and came to the stronghold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites; and they went out to the south of Judah, at Beersheba.

8 And having inspected the entire land, after nine months and twenty days, they were present in Jerusalem.

So when they had gone back and forth through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

9 Then Joab gave the number of the description of the people to the king. And there were found of Israel eight hundred thousand able-bodied men, who might draw the sword; and of Judah, five hundred thousand fighting men.

Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

10 Then the heart of David struck him, after the people were numbered. And David said to the Lord: “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But I pray that you, O Lord, may take away the iniquity of your servant. For I have acted very foolishly.”

David's heart struck him after that he had numbered the people. David said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in that which I have done. But now, LORD, put away, I beg you, the iniquity of your servant; for I have done very foolishly."

11 And David rose up in the morning, and the word of the Lord went to Gad, the prophet and seer of David, saying:

When David rose up in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,

12 “Go, and say to David: ‘Thus says the Lord: I present to you a choice of three things. Choose one of these, whichever you will, so that I may do it to you.’”

"Go and speak to David, 'Thus says the LORD, "I offer you three things. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you."'"

13 And when Gad had gone to David, he announced it to him, saying: “Either seven years of famine will come to you in your land; or you will flee for three months from your adversaries, and they will pursue you; or there will be a pestilence in your land for three days. Now then, deliberate, and see what word I may respond to him who sent me.”

So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, "Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now answer, and consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me."

14 Then David said to Gad: “I am in great anguish. But it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men.”

David said to Gad, "I am in distress. Let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great. Let me not fall into the hand of man."

15 And the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people, from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men.

So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning even to the appointed time; and the destruction began among the people. And there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

16 And when the Angel of the Lord had extended his hand over Jerusalem, so that he might destroy it, the Lord took pity on the affliction. And he said to the Angel who was striking the people: “It is enough. Hold back your hand now.” And the Angel of the Lord was beside the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough. Now stay your hand." The angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. And David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell down on their faces.

17 And when he had seen the Angel cutting down the people, David said to the Lord: “I am the one who sinned. I have acted iniquitously. These ones who are the sheep, what have they done? I beg you that your hand may be turned against me and against my father’s house.”

David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who struck the people, and said, "Look, I have sinned, and I, the shepherd, have done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me, and against my father's house."

18 Then Gad went to David on that day, and he said, “Ascend and construct an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

Gad came that day to David, and said to him, "Go up, build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

19 And David ascended in accord with the word of Gad, which the Lord had commanded to him.

David went up according to the saying of Gad, as the LORD commanded.

20 And looking out, Araunah turned his attention to the king and his servants, passing toward him.

And Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him, so Araunah went out and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.

21 And going out, he adored the king, lying prone with his face to the ground, and he said, “What is the reason that my lord the king has come to his servant?” And David said to him, “So as to purchase the threshing floor from you, and to build an altar to the Lord, and to quiet the plague that rages among the people.”

And Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy your threshing floor, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be stopped from afflicting the people."

22 And Araunah said to David: “May my lord the king offer and accept whatever is pleasing to him. You have oxen for a holocaust, and the cart and the yokes of the oxen to use for wood.”

Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Look, the cattle for the burnt offering, and the threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for the wood."

23 All these things Araunah gave, as a king to a king. And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept your vow.”

All these Araunah gave to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept you."

24 And in response, the king said to him: “It shall not be as you wish. Instead, I will purchase it from you at a price. For I will not offer to the Lord, my God, holocausts that cost nothing.” Therefore, David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

The king said to Araunah, "No; but I will most certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

25 And in that place, David built an altar to the Lord. And he offered holocausts and peace offerings. And the Lord was gracious to the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.

David built an altar to the LORD there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.