¹² “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” ¹³ So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall ^(A)seven^[a] years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴ And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, ^(B)for His mercies are great; but ^(C)do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁵ So ^(D)the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died.

The Census of Israel and Judah^(A)

21 Now ^(B)Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to ^[a]number Israel. ² So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, ^(C)and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”

³ And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”

⁴ Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. ⁵ Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. ^6 (D)But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ^[b]word was abominable to Joab.

⁷ And ^[c]God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.