1 Chronicles 21:1

David's Military Census

1 Satan[a] stood up against Israel and incited David to count [the people of] Israel.

1 Chronicles 21:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 21:2

(See Gill on 1 Chronicles 21:1).

1 Chronicles 21:1 In-Context

1 Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to count [the people of] Israel.
2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan and bring [a report] to me so I can know their number."
3 Joab replied, "May the Lord multiply the number of His people a hundred times over! My lord the king, aren't they all my lord's servants? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"
4 Yet the king's order prevailed over Joab. So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel and then returned to Jerusalem.
5 Joab gave David the total of the registration of the troops. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 swordsmen and in Judah itself 470,000 swordsmen.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or An adversary; Jb 1:6; Zch 3:1-2
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