2 Samuel24

The chapter recounts David's sin in numbering Israel, which kindled the LORD's anger. As a consequence, David was given a choice of three judgments, and he chose a three-day pestilence, which killed seventy thousand men. The plague ceased when David, at the LORD's command through Gad, built an altar and offered sacrifices on Araunah's threshingfloor, thereby entreating the LORD for the land.
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David Orders a Census

1
And again the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah. ​
2
And the king said to Joab the captain of the host, who was with him, Go now to and fro through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the sum of the people. ​
3
And Joab said unto the king, Now Jehovah thy God add unto the people, how many soever they may be, a hundredfold; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing? ​
4
Notwithstanding, the king’s word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
5
And they passed over the Jordan, and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and unto Jazer:
6
then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan, and round about to Sidon,
7
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 Beer-sheba.
8
So when they had gone to and fro through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9
And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

David Repents and Chooses Punishment

10
And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in that which I have done: but now, O Jehovah, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. ​
11
And when David rose up in the morning, the word of Jehovah came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
12
Go and speak unto David, Thus saith Jehovah, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
13
So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy foes while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise thee, and consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me. ​
14
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man. ​
15
So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men. ​
16
And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ​
17
And David spake unto Jehovah when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done perversely; but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house. ​

The Altar at Araunah's Threshing Floor

18
And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ​
19
And David went up according to the saying of Gad, as Jehovah commanded.
20
And Araunah looked forth, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
21
And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing-floor of thee, to build an altar unto Jehovah, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22
And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, the oxen for the burnt-offering, and the threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for the wood:
23
all this, O king, doth Araunah give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, Jehovah thy God accept thee. ​
24
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will verily buy it of thee at a price; neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto Jehovah my God which cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ​
25
And David built there an altar unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. So Jehovah was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. ​

Study Notes for 2 Samuel 24

Verse 1

The chapter opens by noting God’s anger, which allowed or incited David’s action. While 1 Chronicles 21:1 attributes the instigation to Satan, 2 Samuel uses theological language, indicating that God permitted the action as judgment for Israel’s prior sins.

Verse 2

The census was likely intended to assess military strength for conscription and taxation, reflecting David's growing reliance on human power rather than covenant trust in God’s provision.

Verse 3

Joab, often ruthless, recognizes the census as a sin of hubris. He objects because the action implies lack of faith in God’s promise to multiply Israel without limit, a fundamental covenant blessing.

Verse 10

David’s immediate conviction (his 'heart smote him') demonstrates genuine repentance. He realizes that relying on human strength is foolish and undermines the spiritual foundation of his kingdom.

Verse 13

The three options (famine, flight before enemies, pestilence) reflect standard covenant curses. The severity of the choice underlines the gravity of the king's sin, which brought corporate judgment upon the nation.

Verse 14

David chooses the pestilence because it places him directly under the hand of God, affirming his belief that God’s judgment is tempered by great mercy, unlike the cruelty of human adversaries.

Verse 15

The death toll of seventy thousand men emphasizes the severity of the corporate judgment. The consequences of the king's actions directly impacted the entire population.

Verse 16

The phrase 'the LORD repented him of the evil' is anthropomorphic, meaning God relented or ceased the destruction. This divine interruption established the exact location—Araunah's threshing floor—as the future site of the Temple.

Verse 17

David’s intercession shows true shepherding leadership. He accepts full guilt ('I have sinned') and pleads for the innocent people ('these sheep'), offering himself and his household as substitutes for the nation.

Verse 18

The immediate command to build an altar signifies that atonement must be made at the precise spot where judgment was stayed. This location is later identified as Mount Moriah, the site of Solomon’s Temple (2 Chron 3:1).

Verse 23

Araunah, a Jebusite, offers the land and sacrifices freely. This generosity highlights the integration of non-Israelites into the kingdom and their piety toward Yahweh.

Verse 24

David establishes a crucial theological principle: true sacrifice must cost the worshiper something of value. Offerings made without personal sacrifice are inadequate for atonement.

Verse 25

The building of the altar and the offering of sacrifices successfully placate God, staying the plague. This concluding act serves as the foundational epilogue to 2 Samuel, linking David's reign to the establishment of the central place of worship.

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