2 Samuel 24:2-12

2 So David gave orders to Joab and the army officers under him, "Canvass all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and get a count of the population. I want to know the number."

3 But Joab resisted the king: "May your God multiply people by the hundreds right before the eyes of my master the king, but why on earth would you do a thing like this?"

4 Nevertheless, the king insisted, and so Joab and the army officers left the king to take a census of Israel.

5 They crossed the Jordan and began with Aroer and the town in the canyon of the Gadites near Jazer,

6 proceeded through Gilead, passed Hermon, then on to Dan, but detoured Sidon.

7 They covered Fort Tyre and all the Hivite and Canaanite cities, and finally reached the Negev of Judah at Beersheba.

8 They canvassed the whole country and after nine months and twenty days arrived back in Jerusalem.

9 Joab gave the results of the census to the king: 800,000 able-bodied fighting men in Israel; in Judah 500,000.

10 But when it was all done, David was overwhelmed with guilt because he had counted the people, replacing trust with statistics. And David prayed to God, "I have sinned badly in what I have just done. But now God forgive my guilt - I've been really stupid."

11 When David got up the next morning, the word of God had already come to Gad the prophet, David's spiritual advisor,

12 "Go and give David this message: 'God has spoken thus: There are three things I can do to you; choose one out of the three and I'll see that it's done.'"

2 Samuel 24:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

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.