2 Samuel 24:10-17

Contemporary English Version

The Lord Punishes David

(1 Chronicles 21.7-17)

¹⁰ After everyone had been counted, David realized he had done wrong. He told the Lord, “What I did was stupid and terribly wrong. Lord, please forgive me.”

¹¹ Before David even got up the next morning, the Lord had told David's prophet Gad ^12-13 to take a message to David. Gad went to David and told him:

You must choose one of three ways for the Lord to punish you: Will there be seven^[a] years when the land won't grow enough food for your people? Or will your enemies chase you and make you run from them for three months? Or will there be three days of horrible disease in your land? Think about it and decide, because I have to give your answer to God, who sent me.

¹⁴ David was really frightened and said, “It's a terrible choice to make! But the Lord is kind, and I'd rather be punished by him than by anyone else.”

^15-16 So that morning, the Lord sent an angel to spread a horrible disease everywhere in Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. And before it was over, 70,000 people had died.

When the angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord felt sorry for all the suffering he had caused and told the angel, “That's enough! Don't touch them.” This happened at the threshing place that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ David saw the angel killing everyone and told the Lord, “These people are like sheep with me as their shepherd.^[b] I have sinned terribly, but they have done nothing wrong. Please, punish me and my family instead of them!”