2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17
Chapter 24
Joab gave the total count of the people to the king: eight hundred thousand sword-wielding warriors in Israel and five hundred thousand men in Judah.
But after he had the people counted, David felt remorse and said to the Lord: “I have sinned greatly in what I have done, but now, O Lord, I ask you to forgive my sin for I have acted foolishly.”
The following day, before David awoke, the Lord’s word had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer:
“Go, and give David this message: I offer you three things, and I will let one of them befall you according to your own choice.”
So Gad asked David: “Do you want three years of famine in your land? Or do you want to be pursued for three months by your foes while you flee from them? Or do you want three days’ pestilence in your land? Now, think and decide what answer I shall give him who sent me.”
David answered Gad: “I am distraught. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord whose mercy is abundant, but let me not fall into human hands.”
So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from morning until the appointed time, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan to Beersheba.
When the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord would punish no more and said to the angel destroying the people: “It is enough; hold back your hand.” The angel of the Lord was already on the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite.
When David saw the angel striking the people, he spoke to the Lord and said: “I have sinned and acted wickedly, but these are only the sheep; what have they done? Let your hand strike me and my father’s family.”
Commentaries
The Plague.
It has three parts: the census (1-9), the plague (10-15), and the altar (16-25). The first part is administrative, the second divine, and the third worship-focused. These sections are well-structured, beginning with the plague itself, the census as its cause, and the altar as its remedy. It is clear that the plague is viewed as punishment from God: the Lord’s messenger strikes Sennacherib’s army with the plague, while the exterminator afflicts the Egyptians; famine, sword, plague, and wild animals make up the classic group of divine punishers. The plague, more than other disasters, terrified ancient people because of its rapid, uncontrollable spread, its swift execution regardless of age or social status, and the lack of understanding of its causes and nature, which lent it a sacred aura. It was seen as a demonic force or an executioner acting on behalf of a mysterious God.
In the Yahwist view (J), which recognizes only one God—at least for Israel—the plague cannot be caused by another divine enemy but must be under God’s control. That is why it strongly condemns sin or impurity, which must be addressed through atonement, appeasement, and confession. David admits his sin and builds an altar to stop divine anger. In his desire to emphasize God’s action, the writer complicates his story. The main point—the Lord’s sovereignty over all events, causes, effects, and remedies—is clear, but God’s ways of acting can be confusing. If everything had started with David’s sin, it would be easier to understand: after all, David acts as a mediator of both good and bad for his people. But verse 1 says that God incited David to sin to punish the people, who are assumed to be sinners at that time. The First Book of Chronicles (21:1) clarifies that it was Satan who incited David; Satan, the adversary of Israel and God’s plan. The early narrator does not try to explain God’s actions but accepts His mysterious holiness, recognizes His control over human motives, and describes His secret actions in human terms within history.