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.

David Orders a Census

1
The anger of ADONAI blazed up against Isra'el, so he moved David to act against them by saying, "Go, take a census of Isra'el and Y'hudah." ​
2
The king said to Yo'av the commander of the army, who was with him, "Go systematically through all the tribes of Isra'el, from Dan to Be'er-Sheva; and take a census of the population; so that I can know how many people there are." ​
3
Yo'av said to the king, "May ADONAI your God add to the people a hundredfold, no matter how many there are; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king take pleasure in doing this?" ​
4
However, the king's word prevailed against Yo'av and the army officers. So Yo'av and the army officers went out from the king's presence to take a census of the people of Isra'el.
5
They crossed the Yarden and pitched camp in 'Aro'er, to the south of the city in the Vadi of Gad; went on to Ya'zer;
6
came to Gil'ad and continued to the land of Tachtim-Hodshi. Then they arrived at Dan-Ya'an, went around to Tzidon
7
and came to the stronghold of Tzor. They went on to the cities of the Hivi and of the Kena'ani, and finished in the south of Y'hudah, at Be'er-Sheva.
8
When they were done going through all the land, they came back to Yerushalayim; it had taken nine months and twenty days.
9
Yo'av reported the results of the census to the king: there were in Isra'el 800,000 valiant men who could handle a sword, while the men of Y'hudah numbered 500,000.

David Repents and Chooses Punishment

10
But after he had taken the census, David was conscience-stricken. David said to ADONAI, "I have greatly sinned in what I have done. But now, ADONAI, please! Put aside your servant's sin, for I have done a very foolish thing." ​
11
When David got up in the morning, this word of ADONAI came to the prophet Gad, David's seer:
12
"Go and say to David that this is what ADONAI says: 'I am giving you a choice of three punishments. Choose one of them, and I will execute it against you."
13
Gad came to David and told him; he said: "Do you want seven years of famine in your land? or do you want to flee before your enemies for three months while they pursue you? or do you want three days of plague in your land? Think about it, and tell me what to answer the one who sent me." ​
14
David said to Gad, "This is very hard for me. Let us fall into the hand of ADONAI, because his mercies are great, rather than have me fall into the hand of man." ​
15
So ADONAI sent a plague on Isra'el from that morning until the end of the specified time; 70,000 of the people died between Dan and Be'er-Sheva. ​
16
But when the angel stretched out his hand toward Yerushalayim to destroy it, ADONAI changed his mind about causing such distress and said to the angel destroying the people, "Enough! Now withdraw your hand."The angel of ADONAI was at the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Y'vusi. ​
17
David spoke to ADONAI when he saw the angel striking the people; he said, "Here, I have sinned, I have done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please! Let your hand be against me and against my father's family!" ​

The Altar at Araunah's Threshing Floor

18
Gad came to David that day and said to him, "Go, set up an altar to ADONAI on the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Y'vusi." ​
19
David went up and did what Gad had said, as ADONAI had ordered.
20
Aravnah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. Aravnah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground.
21
Then Aravnah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy your threshing-floor, in order to build an altar to ADONAI, so that the plague will be lifted from the people."
22
Aravnah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up anything that seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering; you can use the threshing-sledges and the yokes for the oxen as firewood.
23
All this, O king, Aravnah gives to the king."Then Aravnah said to the king, "May ADONAI your God accept you." ​
24
But the king said to Aravnah, "No; I insist on buying it from you at a price. I refuse to offer to ADONAI my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing."So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for one-and-a-quarter pounds of silver shekels. ​
25
Then David built an altar to ADONAI there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, ADONAI took pity on the land and lifted the plague from Isra'el. ​

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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