^aNow again ^bthe anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and ¹He incited David against them to say, “^cGo, ²count the people of Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go now through all the tribes of Israel, ^afrom Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, and conduct a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.” 3 But Joab said to the king, “^aMay the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as there are, and let the eyes of my lord the king see it; but why does my lord the king ¹want to do this thing?” 4 Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So they went from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel. 5 They crossed over the Jordan and camped in ^aAroer, on the south side of the city which is in the middle of the river valley of the Arnon toward Gad, and on toward ^bJazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to ^aSidon, 7 and they came to the ^astronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the ^bHivites and Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to ^cBeersheba. 8 So when they had gone about through all the land taking the census, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave ^athe sum of the census of the people to the king. In Israel there were ^b800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

10 But ^aDavid’s heart (conscience) troubled him after he had counted the people. David said to the LORD, “^bI have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the sin of Your servant, for ^cI have acted very foolishly.” 11 When David got up in the morning, the word of the LORD came to ^athe prophet Gad, David’s ^bseer, saying, 12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I am giving you three choices; select one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.”’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall ^aseven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your enemies as they pursue you? Or shall there be three days of pestilence (plague) in your land? Now consider this and decide what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, ^afor His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hands of man.”

15 So ^athe LORD sent a pestilence (plague) lasting three days upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people ^bfrom Dan to Beersheba died. 16 ^aWhen the avenging angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, ^bthe LORD relented from the disaster and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he spoke to the LORD and said, “Behold, ^aI alone am the one who has sinned and done wrong; but ^bthese sheep (people of Israel) , what have they done to deserve this? Please let Your hand be only against me and my father’s house (family) .”

18 Then Gad the prophet came to David that day and said to him, “^aGo up, set up an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite where you saw the angel.” 19 So David went up according to Gad’s word, as the LORD commanded. 20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and he went out and bowed before the king with his face toward the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, ^aso that the plague may be held back from the people.” 22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are ^aoxen for the burnt offering, and threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 All of this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God ^abe favorable to you.” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price. ^aI will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.” So ^bDavid purchased the ¹threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 David built an altar to the LORD there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ^aSo the LORD was moved to compassion by David’s prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.