2 Samuel 24

1 And the strong vengeance of the Lord added to be wroth against Israel, and he stirred against them David, saying to Joab, Go thou, and number thou Israel and Judah. (And again the Lord was angry with Israel, and in his strong vengeance he stirred David against them, so that he said to Joab, Go thou, and count the people of Israel and Judah.)

2 And the king said to Joab, the prince of his host, Go thou by all the lineages of Israel, from Dan till to Beersheba, and number thou the people, that I know the number thereof. (And the king said to Joab, the leader of his army, Go thou through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan unto Beersheba, and count the people, so that I can know their number.)

3 And Joab said to the king, Thy Lord God increase to this people, how great it is now, and again multiply he it an hundredfold in the sight of my lord the king; but what will my lord the king to himself in such a thing? (And Joab said to the king, May the Lord thy God increase this people to be more numerous than they be now, and may he multiply them a hundredfold before my lord the king; but why would my lord the king desire to do such a thing as to count the people?)

4 But the word of the king overcame the words of Joab, and of the princes of the host; and Joab went out, and the princes of the knights, from the face of the king, that they should number the people of Israel. (But the king's word overruled what Joab and the other leaders of the army said; and so Joab, and the leaders of the horsemen, went out from before the king, to count the people of Israel.)

5 And when they had passed [over] Jordan (And when they had crossed over the Jordan River), they came into Aroer, to the right side of the city that is in the valley of Gad; and they passed forth by Jazer

6 into Gilead, and into the lower land of Hodshi, and they came into the woody places of Dan; and they went about beside Sidon, (to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi, and they came to Danjaan; and they went about beside Sidon,)

7 and passed nigh the walls of Tyre, and nigh all the land of Hivites, and of Canaanites; and they came to the south of Judah, in[to] Beersheba.

8 And when all the land was compassed, they came after nine months and twenty days into Jerusalem. (And when they had gone throughout all the land, they came back to Jerusalem after nine months and twenty days.)

9 And so Joab gave the number of [the] describing of the people to the king. And of Israel were found nine hundred thousand of strong men, that drew out sword; and of Judah five hundred thousand of fighters. (And so Joab gave the census count to the king. And there were found in Israel eight hundred thousand strong men who drew out the sword; and in Judah five hundred thousand fighting men.)

10 And the heart of David smote him, that is, his conscience reproved him, after that the people was numbered; and David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in this deed; but, Lord, I pray, that thou turn away the wickedness of thy servant, for I have done full follily. (And then David's heart struck him, that is, his conscience rebuked him, after that the people were counted; and David said to the Lord, I have greatly sinned by doing this deed; but, Lord, I pray thee, that thou turn away thy servant's wickedness, yea, what I have done so foolishly.)

11 Therefore David rose (up) early; and the word of the Lord was made to Gad, the prophet and seer, and said,

12 Go thou, and speak to David (Go thou, and say to David), The Lord saith these things, The choice of three things is given to thee; choose thou one, which thou wilt of these, that I do to thee.

13 And when Gad had come to David, he told to him, and said, Either hunger shall come to thee in thy land seven years; either three months thou shalt flee thine adversaries, and they shall pursue thee; either certainly three days pestilence shall be in thy land; now therefore deliver thou, either advise thou/examine thou, and see, what word I shall answer to him that sent me. (And so when Gad had come to David, he told him, and said, Either seven years of hunger, or of famine, shall come upon thee in thy land; or for three months thou shalt flee thy adversaries, and yet they shall pursue thee; or for three days a pestilence shall be in thy land; and so now thou deliberate, and examine thou it, and see, what I shall answer to him who sent me.)

14 And David said to Gad, I am constrained on each side greatly (I am greatly constrained on every side); but it is better that I fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies be many, than into the hands of men.

15 And (so) the Lord sent (a) pestilence into Israel from the morrowtide till to the time ordained; and seventy thousand of men were dead of the people from Dan till to Beersheba.

16 And when the angel of the Lord had held forth his hand over Jerusalem, that he should destroy it, the Lord had mercy on the tormenting; and said to the angel smiting the people, It sufficeth now; withhold thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was beside the cornfloor of Araunah (the) Jebusite. (And when the angel of the Lord had put forth his hand over Jerusalem, to destroy it, the Lord had mercy on the tormenting; and he said to the angel striking the people, That is enough; withdraw thy hand. And the angel of the Lord was beside the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)

17 And David said to the Lord, when he had seen the angel slaying the people, I am he that have sinned, and I have done wickedly; what have these done, that be sheep? I beseech, thine hand be turned against me, and against the house of my father. (And David said to the Lord, when he had seen the angel killing the people, I am the one who hath sinned, and I have done wickedly; what have these people done, yea, they who be but sheep? I beseech thee, let thy hand be turned against me, and against the house of my father.)

18 Forsooth Gad, the prophet, came to David in that day, and said to him, Go thou up, and ordain an altar to the Lord in the cornfloor of Araunah (the) Jebusite. (And that same day, the prophet Gad came to David, and said to him, Go thou up, and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)

19 And David went up, after the word of Gad, which the Lord had commanded to him.

20 And Araunah beheld, and perceived, that the king and his servants passed over to him; and he went out, and worshipped the king with low cheer to the earth; (And Araunah looked up, and saw the king and his servants coming over to him; and he went over, and bowed before the king, with his face low to the ground;)

21 and said, What is the cause, that my lord the king cometh to his servant? To whom David said, That I buy of thee the cornfloor, and build an altar to the Lord, and the slaying cease, that is cruel in the people. (and he said, What is the reason that my lord the king cometh to his servant? To whom David said, To buy the threshing floor from thee, and to build on it an altar to the Lord, so that the slaughter that is so cruel upon the people will cease.)

22 And Araunah said to David, My lord the king take, and offer, as it pleaseth to him; thou hast oxen into burnt sacrifice, and a wain and yokes of oxen into uses of wood. (And Araunah said to David, My lord the king take it, and offer, as it pleaseth thee; lo! thou hast here oxen for a burnt sacrifice, and a wagon, and the yokes of the oxen for wood.)

23 Araunah gave, that is, would give, all (these) things to the king. And Araunah said to the king, Thy Lord God receive thy vow. (And so Araunah would gladly have given all these things to the king. And Araunah said to the king, May the Lord thy God receive thy vow.)

24 To whom the king answered, and said, Not as thou wilt, but I shall buy it of thee for (a) price, and I shall not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices given freely. Therefore David bought the cornfloor for six hundred shekels of gold , and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (To whom the king answered, No, not as thou wilt, but I shall buy it from thee for a price; for I shall not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost nothing. And then David bought the threshing floor for six hundred shekels of gold, and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.)

25 And David builded there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt sacrifices and peaceable sacrifices; and the Lord did mercy to the land, and the vengeance was refrained from Israel. (And David built an altar there to the Lord, and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings; and then the Lord gave mercy to the land, and the plague in Israel was stopped.)

2 Samuel 24 Commentary

Chapter 24

David numbers the people. (1-9) He chooses the pestilence. (10-15) The staying the pestilence. (16,17) David's sacrifice, The plague removed. (18-25)

Verses 1-9 For the people's sin David was left to act wrong, and in his chastisement they received punishment. This example throws light upon God's government of the world, and furnishes a useful lesson. The pride of David's heart, was his sin in numbering of the people. He thought thereby to appear the more formidable, trusting in an arm of flesh more than he should have done, and though he had written so much of trusting in God only. God judges not of sin as we do. What appears to us harmless, or, at least, but a small offence, may be a great sin in the eye of God, who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. Even ungodly men can discern evil tempers and wrong conduct in believers, of which they themselves often remain unconscious. But God seldom allows those whom he loves the pleasures they sinfully covet.

Verses 10-15 It is well, when a man has sinned, if he has a heart within to smite him for it. If we confess our sins, we may pray in faith that God would forgive them, and take away, by pardoning mercy, that sin which we cast away by sincere repentance. What we make the matter of our pride, it is just in God to take from us, or make bitter to us, and make it our punishment. This must be such a punishment as the people have a large share in, for though it was David's sin that opened the sluice, the sins of the people all contributed to the flood. In this difficulty, David chose a judgment which came immediately from God, whose mercies he knew to be very great, rather than from men, who would have triumphed in the miseries of Israel, and have been thereby hardened in their idolatry. He chose the pestilence; he and his family would be as much exposed to it as the poorest Israelite; and he would continue for a shorter time under the Divine rebuke, however severe it was. The rapid destruction by the pestilence shows how easily God can bring down the proudest sinners, and how much we owe daily to the Divine patience.

Verses 16-17 Perhaps there was more wickedness, especially more pride, and that was the sin now chastised, in Jerusalem than elsewhere, therefore the hand of the destroyer is stretched out upon that city; but the Lord repented him of the evil, changed not his mind, but his way. In the very place where Abraham was stayed from slaying his son, this angel, by a like countermand, was stayed from destroying Jerusalem. It is for the sake of the great Sacrifice, that our forfeited lives are preserved from the destroying angel. And in David is the spirit of a true shepherd of the people, offering himself as a sacrifice to God, for the salvation of his subjects.

Verses 18-25 God's encouraging us to offer to him spiritual sacrifices, is an evidence of his reconciling us to himself. David purchased the ground to build the altar. God hates robbery for burnt-offering. Those know not what religion is, who chiefly care to make it cheap and easy to themselves, and who are best pleased with that which costs them least pains or money. For what have we our substance, but to honour God with it; and how can it be better bestowed? See the building of the altar, and the offering proper sacrifices upon it. Burnt-offerings to the glory of God's justice; peace-offerings to the glory of his mercy. Christ is our Altar, our Sacrifice; in him alone we may expect to escape his wrath, and to find favour with God. Death is destroying all around, in so many forms, and so suddenly, that it is madness not to expect and prepare for the close of life.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 24

In this chapter an account is given of David's numbering of the people, 2Sa 24:1-9; of the sense he had of his sin, and of his acknowledgment of it; and of the Lord's displeasure at it, who sent the prophet Gad to him, to propose three things to him, one of which he was to choose as a punishment for it, 2Sa 24:10-13; when he chose the pestilence, which carried off a great number of the people, 2Sa 24:14-17; and David was directed to build an altar to the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite, with whom he agreed for it, and built one on it, and offered upon it, and so the plague was stayed, 2Sa 24:18-25.