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2 Samuel 22-24
Amplified Bible
2 Samuel 22-24
Amplified Bible
David’s Psalm of Rescue
22 David spoke the words of this song to the Lord when the Lord rescued him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress [on the mountain] and my rescuer;(A)
3
[a]My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge,
My Savior—You save me from violence.(B)
4
“I call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies.
5
“For the waves of death encompassed me;
The torrents of [b]destruction overwhelmed and terrified me.
6
“The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
7
“In my distress I called upon the Lord;
I cried out to my God,
And from His temple [in the heavens] He heard my voice;
My cry for help came into His ears.
8
“Then the earth shook and quaked,
The foundations of the heavens trembled
And were shaken, because He was angry.
9
“Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
10
“He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
11
“He rode on a cherub and flew;
He appeared upon the wings of the wind.
12
“He made darkness [c]canopies around Him,
A mass of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
13
“Out of the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were set aflame.
14
“The Lord thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
15
“He sent out arrows and scattered them;
Lightning, and confused them.
16
“The channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were uncovered
At the rebuke of the Lord,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17
“He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of great waters.
18
“He rescued me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
19
“They came upon me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
20
“He also brought me out to an open place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.
21
“The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.
22
“For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not acted wickedly against my God.
23
“For all His judgments (legal decisions) were before me,
And from His statutes I did not turn aside.
24
“I was also blameless before Him,
And kept myself from wrongdoing.
25
“Therefore the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness in His sight.
26
“With the loving and loyal You show Yourself loving and loyal,
With the blameless You show Yourself blameless.
27
“With the pure You show Yourself pure,
With the perverted You show Yourself astute.
28
“And You save the afflicted people;
But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase (humiliate).
29
“For You, O Lord, are my lamp;
The Lord illumines and dispels my darkness.
30
“For by You I can run upon a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
31
“As for God, His way is blameless and perfect;
The word of the Lord is tested.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge and trust in Him.
32
“For who is God, besides the Lord?
And who is a rock, besides our God?(C)
33
“God is my strong fortress;
He sets the blameless in His way.
34
“He makes my feet like the doe’s feet [firm and swift];
He sets me [secure and confident] on my high places.
35
“He trains my hands for war,
So that my arms can bend (pull back) a bow of bronze.
36
“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your help and gentleness make me great.
37
“You enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.
38
“I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed (eliminated).
39
“I consumed them and shattered them, so that they did not rise;
They fell under my feet.
40
“For You have surrounded me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who stood against me.
41
“You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me [in retreat],
And I destroyed those who hated me.
42
“They looked, but there was no savior for them—
Even to the Lord [they looked], but He did not answer them.
43
“Then I beat them as [small as] the dust of the earth;
I crushed and stamped them as the mire (dirt, mud) of the streets.
44
“You also have rescued me from strife with my [own] people;
You have kept me as the head of the nations.
People whom I have not known served me.
45
“Foreigners pretend obedience to me;
As soon as they hear [me], they obey me.
46
“Foreigners lose heart;
They come trembling out of their strongholds.
47
“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
And exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation.
48
“It is God who executes vengeance for me,
And brings down [and disciplines] the peoples under me,
49
Who also brings me out from my enemies.
You even lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the violent man.
50
“For this I will give thanks and praise You, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing praises to Your name.
51
“He is a tower of salvation and great deliverance to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
To David and his offspring forever.”
David’s Last Song
23 Now these are the last words of David.
David the son of Jesse declares,
The man who was raised on high declares,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel,
2
“The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3
“The God of Israel,
The Rock of Israel spoke to me,
‘He who rules over men righteously,
Who rules in the fear of God,
4
Is like the morning light when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
When the fresh grass springs out of the earth
Through sunshine after rain.’
5
“Truly is not my house so [blessed] with God?
For He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Ordered in all things, and secured.
For will He not cause to grow and prosper
All my salvation and my every wish?
Will He not make it grow and prosper?
6
“But the wicked and worthless are all to be thrown away like thorns,
Because they cannot be taken with the hand;
7
“But the man who touches them
Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they are utterly burned and consumed by fire in their place.”
His Mighty Men
8 These are the names of the mighty men (warriors) whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the [d]captains, also called Adino the Eznite (spear) because of the [e]eight hundred men killed [by him] at one time.(D) 9 Next to him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three mighty men with David when they taunted and defied the Philistines assembled there for battle, and the men of Israel had gone. 10 Eleazar stood up and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; the people returned after him only to take the spoil [of the slain].
11 Next to Eleazar was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines were gathered into an army where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people [of Israel] fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the center of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David at harvest time in the cave of Adullam, while an army of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem by the gate, and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink it, but poured it out [in worship] to the Lord. 17 And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should drink this. [Is it not the same as] the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he would not drink it. These things the [f]three mighty men did.
18 Now Abishai the brother of Joab the son of Zeruiah was chief of the [g]thirty. He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them, and gained a reputation beside the three. 19 He was the most honored of the thirty, so he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the [greatness of the] three.
20 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many notable acts, killed two [famous] warriors of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, an impressive and handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a club, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed the man with his own spear. 22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and gained a reputation beside the three mighty men. 23 He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the [greatness of the] three. David appointed him over his guard.
24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; then Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, 27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the Benjamites, 30 Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, 32 Eliahba of Shaalbon, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai the son of Maacah, Eliam the son of Ahithophel of Giloh, 35 Hezro (Hezrai) of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, armor bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 Uriah the Hittite—thirty-seven in all.
The Census Taken
24 Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and [h]He incited David against them to say, “Go, [i]count [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, from 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, “May 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 [j]want 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 Aroer, on the south side of the city which is in the middle of the river valley [of the Arnon] toward Gad, and on toward Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon, 7 and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to Beersheba. 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 the sum of the census of the people to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.
10 But David’s heart (conscience) troubled him after he had counted the people. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the sin of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 11 When David got up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, 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 seven 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, for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hands of man.”
Pestilence Sent
15 So the Lord sent a pestilence (plague) [lasting three days] upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the [avenging] angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the 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, I [alone] am the one who has sinned and done wrong; but these 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).”
David Builds an Altar
18 Then Gad [the prophet] came to David that day and said to him, “Go 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, so 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 oxen 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 be favorable to you.” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David purchased the [k]threshing 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. So the Lord was moved [to compassion] by [David’s] prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Lit the God of my rock.
- 2 Samuel 22:5 Heb Belial.
- 2 Samuel 22:12 Some mss read His covering.
- 2 Samuel 23:8 The exploits of these three warriors are outlined in vv 8-11.
- 2 Samuel 23:8 1 Chr 11:11 lists the number as three hundred, and the number here is thought by some to be a textual error or exaggeration. But there is nothing in the text to suggest a scribal error, and if 800 slain by one man seems incredible, 300—though a much smaller number—still strains credibility. Perhaps divine intervention is the explanation (cf v 12), or Josheb was actually commanding other men but was credited with the victory as if he were alone, a common way to describe military victories.
- 2 Samuel 23:17 I.e. Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah.
- 2 Samuel 23:18 So two Hebrew mss and Syriac; MT three.
- 2 Samuel 24:1 See 1 Chr 21:1. As in the case of Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Cor 12:7; cf 1 Cor 5:5), God sometimes accomplishes His purposes by allowing Satan to inflict injury or cause trouble.
- 2 Samuel 24:1 Ordinarily taking a census would have been a routine procedure for a nation as a way of assessing taxes or conscripting and assigning men to an army. But in Israel none of this was necessary unless it was commanded by God, and David’s action was the product of ego and an uncharacteristic shift of trust and dependence from God to human resources (as Joab suspected, v 3). To his credit, David eventually realized this and came to God in repentance.
- 2 Samuel 24:3 Lit delight in.
- 2 Samuel 24:24 Later Solomon would build his temple on this site.
2 Samuel 22-24
New International Version
2 Samuel 22-24
New International Version
David’s Song of Praise(A)
22 David sang(B) to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
“The Lord is my rock,(C) my fortress(D) and my deliverer;(E)
3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,(F)
my shield[a](G) and the horn[b](H) of my salvation.
He is my stronghold,(I) my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.
4 “I called to the Lord, who is worthy(J) of praise,
and have been saved from my enemies.
5 The waves(K) of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave(L) coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress(M) I called(N) to the Lord;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
8 The earth(O) trembled and quaked,(P)
the foundations(Q) of the heavens[c] shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire(R) came from his mouth,
burning coals(S) blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds(T) were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim(U) and flew;
he soared[d] on the wings of the wind.(V)
12 He made darkness(W) his canopy around him—
the dark[e] rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning(X) blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered(Y) from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot his arrows(Z) and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke(AA) of the Lord,
at the blast(AB) of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high(AC) and took hold of me;
he drew(AD) me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued(AE) me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.(AF)
20 He brought me out into a spacious(AG) place;
he rescued(AH) me because he delighted(AI) in me.(AJ)
21 “The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;(AK)
according to the cleanness(AL) of my hands(AM) he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept(AN) the ways of the Lord;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All his laws are before me;(AO)
I have not turned(AP) away from his decrees.
24 I have been blameless(AQ) before him
and have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,(AR)
according to my cleanness[f] in his sight.
26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
27 to the pure(AS) you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.(AT)
28 You save the humble,(AU)
but your eyes are on the haughty(AV) to bring them low.(AW)
29 You, Lord, are my lamp;(AX)
the Lord turns my darkness into light.
30 With your help I can advance against a troop[g];
with my God I can scale a wall.
31 “As for God, his way is perfect:(AY)
The Lord’s word is flawless;(AZ)
he shields(BA) all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock(BB) except our God?(BC)
33 It is God who arms me with strength[h]
and keeps my way secure.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;(BD)
he causes me to stand on the heights.(BE)
35 He trains my hands(BF) for battle;
my arms can bend a bow(BG) of bronze.
36 You make your saving help my shield;(BH)
your help has made[i] me great.
37 You provide a broad path(BI) for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
38 “I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
39 I crushed(BJ) them completely, and they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
40 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.(BK)
41 You made my enemies turn their backs(BL) in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
42 They cried for help,(BM) but there was no one to save them—(BN)
to the Lord, but he did not answer.(BO)
43 I beat them as fine as the dust(BP) of the earth;
I pounded and trampled(BQ) them like mud(BR) in the streets.
44 “You have delivered(BS) me from the attacks of the peoples;
you have preserved(BT) me as the head of nations.
People(BU) I did not know now serve me,
45 foreigners cower(BV) before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.(BW)
46 They all lose heart;
they come trembling[j](BX) from their strongholds.
47 “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted(BY) be my God, the Rock, my Savior!(BZ)
48 He is the God who avenges(CA) me,(CB)
who puts the nations under me,
49 who sets me free from my enemies.(CC)
You exalted me(CD) above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
50 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises(CE) of your name.(CF)
51 “He gives his king great victories;(CG)
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,(CH)
to David(CI) and his descendants forever.”(CJ)
David’s Last Words
23 These are the last words of David:
“The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse,
the utterance of the man exalted(CK) by the Most High,
the man anointed(CL) by the God of Jacob,
the hero of Israel’s songs:
2 “The Spirit(CM) of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel spoke,
the Rock(CN) of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,(CO)
when he rules in the fear(CP) of God,(CQ)
4 he is like the light(CR) of morning(CS) at sunrise(CT)
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain(CU)
that brings grass from the earth.’
5 “If my house were not right with God,
surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant,(CV)
arranged and secured in every part;
surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation
and grant me my every desire.
6 But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns,(CW)
which are not gathered with the hand.
7 Whoever touches thorns
uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear;
they are burned up where they lie.”
David’s Mighty Warriors(CX)
8 These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:(CY)
Josheb-Basshebeth,[k](CZ) a Tahkemonite,[l] was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed[m] in one encounter.
9 Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai(DA) the Ahohite.(DB) As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim[n] for battle. Then the Israelites retreated, 10 but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.
11 Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. 12 But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam,(DC) while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.(DD) 14 At that time David was in the stronghold,(DE) and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem.(DF) 15 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” 16 So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured(DG) it out before the Lord. 17 “Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood(DH) of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.
Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.
18 Abishai(DI) the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three.[o] He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. 19 Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them.
20 Benaiah(DJ) son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel,(DK) performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 21 And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. 23 He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
24 Among the Thirty were:
Asahel(DL) the brother of Joab,
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,
25 Shammah the Harodite,(DM)
Elika the Harodite,
26 Helez(DN) the Paltite,
Ira(DO) son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,
27 Abiezer(DP) from Anathoth,(DQ)
Sibbekai[p] the Hushathite,
28 Zalmon the Ahohite,
Maharai(DR) the Netophathite,(DS)
29 Heled[q](DT) son of Baanah the Netophathite,
Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah(DU) in Benjamin,
30 Benaiah the Pirathonite,(DV)
Hiddai[r] from the ravines of Gaash,(DW)
31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite,
Azmaveth the Barhumite,(DX)
32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite,
the sons of Jashen,
Jonathan 33 son of[s] Shammah the Hararite,
Ahiam son of Sharar[t] the Hararite,
34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maakathite,(DY)
Eliam(DZ) son of Ahithophel(EA) the Gilonite,
35 Hezro the Carmelite,(EB)
Paarai the Arbite,
36 Igal son of Nathan from Zobah,(EC)
the son of Hagri,[u]
37 Zelek the Ammonite,
Naharai the Beerothite,(ED) the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,
38 Ira the Ithrite,(EE)
Gareb the Ithrite
39 and Uriah(EF) the Hittite.
There were thirty-seven in all.
David Enrolls the Fighting Men(EG)
24 Again(EH) the anger of the Lord burned against Israel,(EI) and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of(EJ) Israel and Judah.”
2 So the king said to Joab(EK) and the army commanders[v] with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba(EL) and enroll(EM) the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”
3 But Joab(EN) replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over,(EO) and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”
4 The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.
5 After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer,(EP) south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.(EQ) 6 They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.(ER) 7 Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre(ES) and all the towns of the Hivites(ET) and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba(EU) in the Negev(EV) of Judah.
8 After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.(EW)
10 David was conscience-stricken(EX) after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned(EY) greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.(EZ)”
11 Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad(FA) the prophet, David’s seer:(FB) 12 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”
13 So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three[w] years of famine(FC) in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague(FD) in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
14 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy(FE) is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.(FF) 16 When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented(FG) concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord(FH) was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,[x] have done wrong. These are but sheep.(FI) What have they done?(FJ) Let your hand fall on me and my family.”(FK)
David Builds an Altar(FL)
18 On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah(FM) the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20 When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”
“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”(FN)
22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen(FO) for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 Your Majesty, Araunah[y] gives(FP) all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”(FQ)
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels[z](FR) of silver for them. 25 David built an altar(FS) to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer(FT) in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Or sovereign
- 2 Samuel 22:3 Horn here symbolizes strength.
- 2 Samuel 22:8 Hebrew; Vulgate and Syriac (see also Psalm 18:7) mountains
- 2 Samuel 22:11 Many Hebrew manuscripts (see also Psalm 18:10); most Hebrew manuscripts appeared
- 2 Samuel 22:12 Septuagint (see also Psalm 18:11); Hebrew massed
- 2 Samuel 22:25 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:24) to the cleanness of my hands
- 2 Samuel 22:30 Or can run through a barricade
- 2 Samuel 22:33 Dead Sea Scrolls, some Septuagint manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Psalm 18:32); Masoretic Text who is my strong refuge
- 2 Samuel 22:36 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text shield; / you stoop down to make
- 2 Samuel 22:46 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate (see also Psalm 18:45); Masoretic Text they arm themselves
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts suggest Ish-Bosheth, that is, Esh-Baal (see also 1 Chron. 11:11 Jashobeam).
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Probably a variant of Hakmonite (see 1 Chron. 11:11)
- 2 Samuel 23:8 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:11); Hebrew and other Septuagint manuscripts Three; it was Adino the Eznite who killed eight hundred men
- 2 Samuel 23:9 See 1 Chron. 11:13; Hebrew gathered there.
- 2 Samuel 23:18 Most Hebrew manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:20); two Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Thirty
- 2 Samuel 23:27 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 21:18; 1 Chron. 11:29); Hebrew Mebunnai
- 2 Samuel 23:29 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate (see also 1 Chron. 11:30); most Hebrew manuscripts Heleb
- 2 Samuel 23:30 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:32) Hurai
- 2 Samuel 23:33 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:34); Hebrew does not have son of.
- 2 Samuel 23:33 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:35) Sakar
- 2 Samuel 23:36 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 11:38); Hebrew Haggadi
- 2 Samuel 24:2 Septuagint (see also verse 4 and 1 Chron. 21:2); Hebrew Joab the army commander
- 2 Samuel 24:13 Septuagint (see also 1 Chron. 21:12); Hebrew seven
- 2 Samuel 24:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text does not have the shepherd.
- 2 Samuel 24:23 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts King Araunah
- 2 Samuel 24:24 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
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