2 Samuel 24

1 And the anger of YHWH adds to burn against Israel, and [an adversary] moves David about them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

Again the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and moving David against them, he said, Go, take the number of Israel and Judah.

2 And the king says to Joab, head of the host that [is] with him, “Now go to and fro through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-Sheba, and inspect the people; then I have known the number of the people.”

And the king said to Joab and the captains of the army, who were with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan as far as Beer-sheba, and have all the people numbered, so that I may be certain of the number of the people.

3 And Joab says to the king, “Indeed, your God YHWH adds to the people, as they are, one hundred times, and the eyes of my lord the king are seeing; and my lord the king, why is he desirous of this thing?”

And Joab said to the king, Whatever the number of the people, may the Lord make it a hundred times as much, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why does my lord the king take pleasure in doing this thing?

4 And the word of the king is severe toward Joab, and against the heads of the force, and Joab goes out, and the heads of the force, [from] before the king to inspect the people, even Israel;

But the king's order was stronger than Joab and the captains of the army. And Joab and the captains of the army went out from the king, to take the number of the children of Israel.

5 and they pass over the Jordan, and encamp in Aroer, on the right of the city that [is] in the midst of the Brook of Gad, and to Jazer,

And they went over Jordan, and starting from Aroer, from the town which is in the middle of the valley, they went in the direction of the Gadites, and on to Jazer;

6 and they come to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-Hodshi, and they come to Dan-Jaan, and around to Sidon,

Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of the Hittites under Hermon; and they came to Dan, and from Dan they came round to Zidon,

7 and they come to the fortress of Tyre, and all the cities of the Hivite, and of the Canaanite, and go out to the south of Judah, to Beer-Sheba.

And to the walled town of Tyre, and to all the towns of the Hivites and the Canaanites: and they went out to the South of Judah at Beer-sheba.

8 And they go to and fro through all the land, and come in to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days,

So after going through all the land in every direction, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

9 and Joab gives the account of the inspection of the people to the king, and Israel is eight hundred thousand men of valor, drawing sword, and the men of Judah five hundred thousand men.

And Joab gave the king the number of all the people: there were in Israel eight hundred thousand fighting men able to take up arms; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand.

10 And the heart of David strikes him, after that he has numbered the people, and David says to YHWH, “I have greatly sinned in that which I have done, and now, O YHWH, please cause the iniquity of Your servant to pass away, for I have acted very foolishly.”

And after the people had been numbered, David's heart was troubled. And David said to the Lord, Great has been my sin in doing this; but now, O Lord, be pleased to take away the sin of your servant, for I have done very foolishly

11 And David rises in the morning, and the word of YHWH has been to Gad the prophet, seer of David, saying,

And David got up in the morning; now the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,

12 “Go, and you have spoken to David, Thus said YHWH: I am lifting up three [choices] for you, choose one of them, and I do [it] to you.”

Go and say to David, The Lord says, Three things are offered to you: say which of them you will have, and I will do it to you.

13 And Gad comes to David, and declares [it] to him, and says to him, “Does seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or are you fleeing before your adversary [for] three months—and he is pursuing you? Or is there pestilence [for] three days in your land? Now, know and see what word I take back to Him sending me.”

So Gad came to David, and gave him word of this and said to him, Are there to be three years when there is not enough food in your land? or will you go in flight from your haters for three months, while they go after you? or will you have three days of violent disease in your land? take thought and say what answer I am to give to him who sent me.

14 And David says to Gad, “I have great distress; please let us fall into the hand of YHWH, for His mercies [are] many, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

And David said to Gad, This is a hard decision for me to make: let us come into the hands of the Lord, for great are his mercies: let me not come into the hands of men.

15 And YHWH gives a pestilence on Israel from the morning even to the time appointed, and there dies of the people, from Dan even to Beer-Sheba, seventy thousand men,

So David made selection of the disease; and the time was the days of the grain-cutting, when the disease came among the people, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan as far as Beer-sheba.

16 and the messenger puts forth his hand to Jerusalem to destroy it, and YHWH sighs concerning the calamity, and says to the messenger who is destroying among the people, “Enough, now, cease your hand”; and the messenger of YHWH was near the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

And when the hand of the angel was stretched out in the direction of Jerusalem, for its destruction, the Lord had regret for the evil, and said to the angel who was sending destruction on the people, It is enough; do no more. And the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 And David speaks to YHWH when he sees the messenger who is striking among the people, and says, “Behold, I have sinned, indeed, I have done perversely; and these—the flock—what have they done? Please let Your hand be on me and on the house of my father.”

And when David saw the angel who was causing the destruction of the people, he said to the Lord, Truly, the sin is mine; I have done wrong: but these are only sheep; what have they done? let your hand be against me and against my family.

18 And Gad comes to David on that day and says to him, “Go up, raise an altar to YHWH in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite”;

And that day Gad came to David and said to him, Go up, and put up an altar to the Lord on the grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

19 and David goes up, according to the word of Gad, as YHWH commanded.

So David went up, as Gad had said and as the Lord had given orders.

20 And Araunah looks, and sees the king and his servants passing over to him, and Araunah goes out and bows himself to the king [with] his face to the earth.

And Araunah, looking out, saw the king and his servants coming to him: and Araunah went out, and went down on his face to the earth before the king.

21 And Araunah says, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David says, “To buy the threshing-floor from you, to build an altar to YHWH, and the plague is restrained from the people.”

And Araunah said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To give you a price for your grain-floor, so that I may put up an altar to the Lord, and the disease may be stopped among the people.

22 And Araunah says to David, “Let my lord the king take [it] and cause that which is good in his eyes to ascend; see, [here are] the oxen for a burnt-offering, and the threshing instruments, and the instruments of the oxen, for wood”;

And Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take whatever seems right to him, and make an offering of it: see, here are the oxen for the burned offering, and the grain-cleaning instruments and the ox-yokes for wood:

23 Araunah has given the whole [as] a king to a king; and Araunah says to the king, “Your God YHWH accepts you.”

All this does the servant of my lord the king give to the king. And Araunah said, May the Lord your God be pleased with your offering!

24 And the king says to Araunah, “No, for I surely buy from you for a price, and I do not cause burnt-offerings to ascend to my God YHWH for nothing”; and David buys the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver,

And the king said to Araunah, No, but I will give you a price for it; I will not give to the Lord my God burned offerings for which I have given nothing. So David got the grain-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

25 and David builds an altar to YHWH there, and causes burnt-offerings and peace-offerings to ascend, and YHWH accepts the plea for the land, and the plague is restrained from Israel.

And there David put up an altar to the Lord, making burned offerings and peace-offerings. So the Lord gave ear to his prayer for the land, and the disease came to an end in Israel.