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2 Samuel 24:1-3
New Catholic Bible
2 Samuel 24:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 24[a]
Census of the People. 1 Once again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying: “Go forth and take a census of Israel and Judah.” 2 Therefore, the king said to Joab and to all the army commanders who were with him: “Go throughout all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and take a census of the people so that I may know how many there are.”
3 Joab said to the king in response: “May the Lord, your God, increase the number of your people a hundredfold, and may the eyes of my lord the king live to see it. But why does my lord the king want to undertake this task?”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 24:1 A parallel to the famine reported in chapter 21. In this case, the wicked act that causes it is the census taken of men capable of bearing arms and the reliance on this human might. In fact, God alone is master of life and of victory. In the understanding of the ancients, who did not distinguish between what God simply tolerates and what he commands, he gave the order for the famine. In fact, the first Book of Chronicles (ch. 21) substitutes the name Satan for that of the Lord. The underlying historical fact is difficult to explain.
