2 Samuel 24:1-9
Konteks24:1 The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.” 1 24:2 The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”
24:3 Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?”
24:4 But the king’s edict stood, despite the objections of 2 Joab and the leaders of the army. So Joab and the leaders of the army left the king’s presence in order to muster the Israelite army.
24:5 They crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, on the south side of the city, at 3 the wadi of Gad, near Jazer. 24:6 Then they went on to Gilead and to the region of Tahtim Hodshi, coming to Dan Jaan and on around to Sidon. 4 24:7 Then they went to the fortress of Tyre 5 and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beer Sheba. 24:8 They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem. 6
24:9 Joab reported the number of warriors 7 to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.
1 Tawarikh 21:1-6
Konteks21:1 An adversary 8 opposed 9 Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had. 10 21:2 David told Joab and the leaders of the army, 11 “Go, count the number of warriors 12 from Beer Sheba to Dan. Then bring back a report to me so I may know how many we have.” 13 21:3 Joab replied, “May the Lord make his army 14 a hundred times larger! My master, O king, do not all of them serve my master? Why does my master want to do this? Why bring judgment on Israel?” 15
21:4 But the king’s edict stood, despite Joab’s objections. 16 So Joab left and traveled throughout Israel before returning to Jerusalem. 17 21:5 Joab reported to David the number of warriors. 18 In all Israel there were 1,100,000 19 sword-wielding soldiers; Judah alone had 470,000 sword-wielding soldiers. 20 21:6 Now Joab 21 did not number Levi and Benjamin, for the king’s edict disgusted him.
2 Samuel 24:10-17
Konteks24:10 David felt guilty 22 after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
24:11 When David got up the next morning, the Lord had already spoken 23 to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: 24:12 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.’”
24:13 Gad went to David and told him, “Shall seven 24 years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide 25 what I should tell the one who sent me.” 24:14 David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!” 26
24:15 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba. 24:16 When the angel 27 extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment. 28 He told the angel who was killing the people, “That’s enough! Stop now!” 29 (Now the Lord’s angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)
24:17 When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, “Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep – what have they done? Attack me and my family.” 30
1 Tawarikh 21:7-17
Konteks21:7 God was also offended by it, 31 so he attacked Israel.
21:8 David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 21:9 The Lord told Gad, David’s prophet, 32 21:10 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them.”’” 33 21:11 Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Pick one of these: 21:12 three 34 years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords, 35 or three days being struck down by the Lord, during which a plague will invade the land and the Lord’s messenger will destroy throughout Israel’s territory.’ 36 Now, decide what I should tell the one who sent me.” 21:13 David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer to be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!” 37 21:14 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel, and 70,000 Israelite men died.
21:15 God sent an angel 38 to ravage 39 Jerusalem. As he was doing so, 40 the Lord watched 41 and relented from 42 his judgment. 43 He told the angel who was destroying, “That’s enough! 44 Stop now!” 45
Now the Lord’s angel was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan 46 the Jebusite. 21:16 David looked up and saw the Lord’s messenger standing between the earth and sky with his sword drawn and in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. David and the leaders, covered with sackcloth, threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. 47 21:17 David said to God, “Was I not the one who decided to number the army? I am the one who sinned and committed this awful deed! 48 As for these sheep – what have they done? O Lord my God, attack me and my family, 49 but remove the plague from your people!” 50
2 Samuel 24:18-25
Konteks24:18 So Gad went to David that day and told him, “Go up and build an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 24:19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do, according to the Lord’s instructions.
24:20 When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants approaching him, he 51 went out and bowed to the king with his face 52 to the ground. 24:21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people.” 24:22 Araunah told David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wishes 53 and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges 54 and harnesses 55 for wood. 24:23 I, the servant of my lord 56 the king, give it all to the king!” Araunah also told the king, “May the Lord your God show you favor!” 24:24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you! I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing.”
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver. 57 24:25 Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.
1 Tawarikh 21:18--22:19
Konteks21:18 So the Lord’s messenger told Gad to instruct David to go up and build 58 an altar for the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 21:19 So David went up as Gad instructed him to do in the name of the Lord. 59 21:20 While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the messenger, and he and his four sons hid themselves. 21:21 When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David; he came out from the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face 60 to the ground. 21:22 David said to Ornan, “Sell me the threshing floor 61 so I can build 62 on it an altar for the Lord – I’ll pay top price 63 – so that the plague may be removed 64 from the people.” 21:23 Ornan told David, “You can have it! 65 My master, the king, may do what he wants. 66 Look, I am giving you the oxen for burnt sacrifices, the threshing sledges for wood, and the wheat for an offering. I give it all to you.” 21:24 King David replied to Ornan, “No, I insist on buying it for top price. 67 I will not offer to the Lord what belongs to you or offer a burnt sacrifice 68 that cost me nothing. 69 21:25 So David bought the place from Ornan for 600 pieces of gold. 70 21:26 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. 71 He called out to the Lord, and the Lord 72 responded by sending fire from the sky and consuming the burnt sacrifice on the altar. 21:27 The Lord ordered the messenger 73 to put his sword back into its sheath.
21:28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord responded to him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 21:29 Now the Lord’s tabernacle (which Moses had made in the wilderness) and the altar for burnt sacrifices were at that time at the worship center 74 in Gibeon. 21:30 But David could not go before it to seek God’s will, for he was afraid of the sword of the Lord’s messenger. 22:1 David then said, “This is the place where the temple of the Lord God will be, along with the altar for burnt sacrifices for Israel.”
22:2 David ordered the resident foreigners in the land of Israel to be called together. He appointed some of them to be stonecutters to chisel stones for the building of God’s temple. 22:3 David supplied a large amount of iron for the nails of the doors of the gates and for braces, more bronze than could be weighed, 22:4 and more cedar logs than could be counted. (The Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large amount of cedar logs to David.)
22:5 David said, “My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man, 75 and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations. 76 Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.” So David made extensive preparations before he died.
22:6 He summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. 22:7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I really wanted 77 to build a temple to honor 78 the Lord my God. 22:8 But the Lord said to me: 79 ‘You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, 80 for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me. 22:9 Look, you will have a son, who will be a peaceful man. 81 I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. 82 Indeed, Solomon 83 will be his name; I will give Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 84 22:10 He will build a temple to honor me; 85 he will become my son, and I will become his father. I will grant to his dynasty permanent rule over Israel.’ 86
22:11 “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you! May you succeed and build a temple for the Lord your God, just as he announced you would. 87 22:12 Only may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he places you in charge of Israel, so you may obey 88 the law of the Lord your God. 22:13 Then you will succeed, if you carefully obey the rules and regulations which the Lord ordered Moses to give to Israel. 89 Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! 90 22:14 Now, look, I have made every effort to supply what is needed to build the Lord’s temple. 91 I have stored up 100,000 talents 92 of gold, 1,000,000 93 talents of silver, and so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, as well as wood and stones. Feel free to add more! 22:15 You also have available many workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters, 94 and an innumerable array of workers who are skilled 22:16 in using gold, silver, bronze, and iron. 95 Get up and begin the work! May the Lord be with you!”
22:17 David ordered all the officials of Israel to support 96 his son Solomon. 22:18 He told them, 97 “The Lord your God is with you! 98 He has made you secure on every side, 99 for he handed over to me the inhabitants of the region 100 and the region 101 is subdued before the Lord and his people. 22:19 Now seek the Lord your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being! 102 Get up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God! Then you can bring 103 the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy items dedicated to God’s service 104 into the temple that is built to honor the Lord.” 105
[24:1] 1 sn The parallel text in 1 Chr 21:1 says, “An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.” The Samuel version gives an underlying theological perspective, while the Chronicler simply describes what happened from a human perspective. The adversary in 1 Chr 21:1 is likely a human enemy, probably a nearby nation whose hostility against Israel pressured David into numbering the people so he could assess his military strength. See the note at 1 Chr 21:1.
[24:4] 2 tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than.”
[24:5] 3 tn Heb “in the middle of.”
[24:6] 4 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[24:7] 5 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[24:8] 6 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[24:9] 7 tn Heb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.”
[21:1] 8 tn Or “Satan.” The Hebrew word שָׂטָן (satan) can refer to an adversary in general or Satan in particular. There is no article accompanying the term here, which suggests it should be understood generally (cf. NAB “a satan”).
[21:1] 9 tn Heb “stood against.”
[21:1] 10 tn Heb “and incited David to count Israel.” As v. 5 indicates, David was not interested in a general census, but in determining how much military strength he had.
[21:1] sn The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:1 says, “The
[21:2] 12 tn Heb “Go, count Israel.” See the note on “had” in v. 1.
[21:2] 13 tn Heb “their number.”
[21:3] 15 tn Heb “Why should it become guilt for Israel?” David’s decision betrays an underlying trust in his own strength rather than in divine provision. See also 1 Chr 27:23-24.
[21:4] 16 tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than Joab.”
[21:4] 17 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:5] 18 tn Heb “and Joab gave to David the number of the numbering of the army [or “people”].”
[21:5] 19 tn Heb “a thousand thousands and one hundred thousand.”
[21:5] 20 tc The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:9 has variant figures: “In Israel there were eight hundred thousand sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were five hundred thousands soldiers.”
[21:6] 21 tn Heb “he”; the proper name (“Joab”) has been substituted for the pronoun here for stylistic reasons; the proper name occurs at the end of the verse in the Hebrew text, where it has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.
[24:10] 22 tn Heb “and the heart of David struck him.”
[24:11] 23 tn Heb “and the word of the
[24:13] 24 tc The LXX has here “three” rather than “seven,” and is followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT. See 1 Chr 21:12.
[24:13] 25 tn Heb “now know and see.”
[24:14] 26 tn Heb “There is great distress to me. Let us fall into the hand of the
[24:16] 27 tn Heb “messenger.”
[24:16] 28 tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”
[24:16] 29 tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”
[24:17] 30 tn Heb “let your hand be against me and against the house of my father.”
[21:7] 31 tn Heb “There was displeasure in the eyes of God concerning this thing.”
[21:10] 33 tn Heb “Three I am extending to you; choose for yourself one of them and I will do it to you.”
[21:12] 34 tc The parallel text in the MT of 2 Sam 24:13 has “seven,” but LXX has “three” there.
[21:12] 35 tc Heb “or three months being swept away from before your enemies and the sword of your enemies overtaking.” The Hebrew term נִסְפֶּה (nisppeh, Niphal participle from סָפָה, safah) should probably be emended to נֻסְכָה (nusÿkhah, Qal infinitive from נוּס [nus] with second masculine singular suffix). See 2 Sam 24:13.
[21:12] 36 tn Heb “or three days of the sword of the
[21:13] 37 tn Heb “There is great distress to me; let me fall into the hand of the
[21:15] 38 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 24:15 reports that God sent a plague, while 24:16-17 attributes this to the instrumentality of an angel.
[21:15] 40 tn Heb “while he was destroying.”
[21:15] 42 tn Or “was grieved because of.”
[21:15] 43 tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”
[21:15] 44 tn For this nuance of the Hebrew word רַב (rav), see BDB 913 s.v. 1.f.
[21:15] 45 tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”
[21:15] 46 tn In the parallel text in 2 Sam 24:16 this individual is called אֲרַוְנָא (’aravna’, “Aravna”), traditionally “Araunah.” The form of the name found here also occurs in vv. 18-28.
[21:16] 47 tn Heb “and David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces.”
[21:17] 48 tn “and doing evil I did evil.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite form of the verb for emphasis.
[21:17] 49 tn Heb “let your hand be on me and on the house of my father.”
[21:17] 50 tn Heb “but on your people not for a plague.”
[24:20] 51 tn Heb “Araunah.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
[24:22] 53 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
[24:22] 54 sn Threshing sledges were heavy boards used in ancient times for loosening grain from husks. On the bottom sides of these boards sharp stones were embedded, and the boards were then dragged across the grain on a threshing floor by an ox or donkey.
[24:22] 55 tn Heb “the equipment of the oxen.”
[24:23] 56 tc The Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation reads עֶבֶד אֲדֹנָי (’eved ’adoni, “the servant of my lord”) rather than the MT’s אֲרַוְנָה (’Aravnah). In normal court etiquette a subject would not use his own name in this way, but would more likely refer to himself in the third person. The MT probably first sustained loss of עֶבֶד (’eved, “servant”), leading to confusion of the word for “my lord” with the name of the Jebusite referred to here.
[24:24] 57 tn Heb “fifty shekels of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.
[21:18] 58 tn Heb “that he should go up to raise up.”
[21:19] 59 tn Heb “and David went up by the word of Gad which he spoke in the name of the
[21:22] 61 tn Heb “the place of the threshing floor.”
[21:22] 62 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive here indicates the immediate purpose/result: “so I can build.”
[21:22] 63 tn Heb “For full silver sell to me.”
[21:22] 64 tn Following the imperative and first person prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive, this third person prefixed verbal form with vav conjunctive introduces the ultimate purpose/result: “so the plague may be removed.” Another option is subordinate this form to the preceding imperative, but the latter may be taken as a parenthetical expansion of the initial request.
[21:23] 65 tn Heb “take for yourself.”
[21:23] 66 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
[21:24] 67 tn Heb “No, for buying I will buy for full silver.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[21:24] 68 tc The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:24 has the plural “burnt sacrifices.”
[21:24] 69 tn Or “without [paying] compensation.”
[21:25] 70 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 24:24 says David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for “fifty pieces of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.
[21:25] tn Heb “six hundred shekels of gold.” This would have been about 15 lbs. (6.8 kg) of gold by weight.
[21:26] 71 tn Or “tokens of peace.”
[21:26] 72 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[21:27] 73 tn Heb “spoke to the messenger.”
[21:29] 74 tn Or “high place.”
[22:5] 75 tn Heb “a young man and tender.”
[22:5] 76 tn Heb “and the house to build to make exceedingly great for a name and for splendor for all the lands.”
[22:7] 77 tn Heb “I was with my heart.”
[22:7] 78 tn Heb “for the name of.”
[22:8] 79 tn Heb “and the word of the
[22:8] 80 tn Heb “for my name.”
[22:9] 81 tn Heb “man of rest.”
[22:9] 82 tn Heb “his enemies all around.”
[22:9] 83 sn The name Solomon (שְׁלֹמֹה, shÿlomoh) sounds like (and may be derived from) the Hebrew word for “peace” (שָׁלוֹם, shalom).
[22:9] 84 tn Heb “in his days.”
[22:10] 85 tn Heb “for my name.”
[22:10] 86 tn Heb “and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel permanently.”
[22:11] 87 tn Heb “as he spoke concerning you.”
[22:13] 89 tn Heb “which the
[22:13] 90 tn Or perhaps, “and don’t get discouraged.”
[22:14] 91 tn Heb “and look, in my affliction [or perhaps, “poverty”] I have supplied for the house of the
[22:14] 92 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6.
[22:14] 93 tn Heb “a thousand thousands.”
[22:15] 94 tn Heb “craftsmen of stone and wood.”
[22:16] 95 tn Heb “and every kind of skilled one in all work, concerning gold, concerning silver, and concerning bronze, and concerning iron, there is no numbering.”
[22:18] 97 tn The words “he told them” are added in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[22:18] 98 tn In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is not the
[22:18] 99 tn Heb “and he gives rest to you all around.”
[22:19] 102 tn Heb “now give your heart and your being to seek the
[22:19] 103 tn Heb “to bring.”
