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 the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. ​
2
For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people. ​
3
And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may 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 Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:
6
Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they came to Danjaan, and about to Zidon,
7
And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beersheba.
8
So when they had gone 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 number 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 the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. ​
11
For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
12
Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, 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 thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see 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 the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. ​
15
So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men. ​
16
And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. ​
17
And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine 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 the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. ​
19
And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
20
And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
21
And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, 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, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
23
All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. ​
24
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ​
25
And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated 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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