2 Samuel 24

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Again, Yahweh's anger was aroused against Israel, and he incited David against them. 'Go,' he said,'take a census of Israel and Judah.'	1 And the fury of the Lord was again kindled against Israel, and he stirred up David among them, saying: “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
2 The king said to Joab and the senior army officers who were with him, 'Now, go through al the tribesof Israel from Dan to Beersheba, and take a census of the people; I wish to know the size of the population.'	2 And the king said to Joab, the leader of his army, “Travel through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know their number.”
3 Joab said to the king, 'May Yahweh your God multiply the people a hundred times -- however manythere are -- while my lord the king stil has eyes to see it, but why should my lord the king be set on this?'	3 And Joab said to the king: “May the Lord your God increase your people, who are already great in number, and may he again increase them, one hundredfold, in the sight of my lord the king. But what does my lord the king intend for himself by this kind of thing?”
4 The king nonetheless enforced his order on Joab and the senior officers, and Joab and the seniorofficers left the king's presence, to take a census of the people of Israel.	4 But the words of the king prevailed over the words of Joab and the leaders of the army. And so Joab and the leaders of the military departed from the face of the king, so that they might number the people of Israel.
5 They crossed the Jordan and made a start with Aroer and the town in the middle of the valley, thenmoved on to the Gadites and to Jazer.	5 And when they had passed across the Jordan, they arrived at Aroer, to the right of the city, which is in the Valley of Gad.
6 They then went to Gilead and the territory of the Hittites, to Kadesh; they then went to Dan and fromDan cut across to Sidon.	6 And they continued on through Jazer, into Gilead, and to the lower land of Hodsi. And they arrived in the woodlands of Dan. And going around beside Sidon,
7 They then went to the fortress of Tyre and to al the towns of the Hittites and Canaanites ending up inthe Negeb of Judah at Beersheba.	7 they passed near the walls of Tyre, and near all the land of the Hivite and the Canaanite. And they went into the south of Judah, to Beersheba.
8 Having travel ed throughout the country, after nine months and twenty days they returned toJerusalem.	8 And having inspected the entire land, after nine months and twenty days, they were present in Jerusalem.
9 Joab gave the king the census results for the people; Israel had eight hundred thousand fighting menwho could wield a sword, and Judah five hundred thousand.	9 Then Joab gave the number of the description of the people to the king. And there were found of Israel eight hundred thousand able-bodied men, who might draw the sword; and of Judah, five hundred thousand fighting men.
10 But afterwards David's heart misgave him for having taken a census of the people. David then said toYahweh, 'I have committed a grave sin by doing this. But now, Yahweh, I beg you to forgive your servant for thisfault, for I have acted very foolishly.'	10 Then the heart of David struck him, after the people were numbered. And David said to the Lord: “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But I pray that you, O Lord, may take away the iniquity of your servant. For I have acted very foolishly.”
11 When, however, David got up next morning, the fol owing message had come from Yahweh to theprophet Gad, David's seer,	11 And David rose up in the morning, and the word of the Lord went to Gad, the prophet and seer of David, saying:
12 'Go and say to David, "Yahweh says this: I offer you three things; choose which one of them I am toinflict on you." '	12 “Go, and say to David: ‘Thus says the Lord: I present to you a choice of three things. Choose one of these, whichever you will, so that I may do it to you.’ ”
13 So Gad went to David and said, 'Which do you prefer: to have three years of famine befal yourcountry; to flee for three months before a pursuing army; or to have three days of epidemic in your country? Nowthink, and decide how I am to answer him who sends me.'	13 And when Gad had gone to David, he announced it to him, saying: “Either seven years of famine will come to you in your land; or you will flee for three months from your adversaries, and they will pursue you; or there will be a pestilence in your land for three days. Now then, deliberate, and see what word I may respond to him who sent me.”
14 David said to Gad, 'I am very apprehensive . . . Better to fal into Yahweh's hands, since his merciesare great, than to fal into the hands of men!'	14 Then David said to Gad: “I am in great anguish. But it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men.”
15 So David chose the epidemic. It was the time of the wheat harvest. So Yahweh unleashed anepidemic on Israel from that morning until the time determined; plague ravaged the people and, of the peoplefrom Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand died.	15 And the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people, from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men.
16 But when the angel stretched his hand towards Jerusalem to destroy it, Yahweh felt sorry about thecalamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, 'Enough now! Hold your hand!' The angel ofYahweh was standing by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.	16 And when the Angel of the Lord had extended his hand over Jerusalem, so that he might destroy it, the Lord took pity on the affliction. And he said to the Angel who was striking the people: “It is enough. Hold back your hand now.” And the Angel of the Lord was beside the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel who was ravaging the people, he said to Yahweh, 'I was the one whosinned. I was the one who acted wrongly. But these, the flock, what have they done? Let your hand lie heavy onme and on my family!'	17 And when he had seen the Angel cutting down the people, David said to the Lord: “I am the one who sinned. I have acted iniquitously. These ones who are the sheep, what have they done? I beg you that your hand may be turned against me and against my father’s house.”
18 Gad went to David that day and said, 'Go up and raise an altar to Yahweh on the threshing-floor ofAraunah the Jebusite.'	18 Then Gad went to David on that day, and he said, “Ascend and construct an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 So, at Gad's bidding, David went up, as Yahweh had ordered.	19 And David ascended in accord with the word of Gad, which the Lord had commanded to him.
20 When Araunah looked up and saw the king and his retinue advancing towards him-Araunah wasthreshing the wheat -- Araunah came forward and prostrated himself on the ground at the king's feet.	20 And looking out, Araunah turned his attention to the king and his servants, passing toward him.
21 'Why has my lord the king come to his servant?' Araunah asked. David replied, 'To buy the threshing-floor from you, to build an altar to Yahweh, so that the plague may be lifted from the people.'	21 And going out, he adored the king, lying prone with his face to the ground, and he said, “What is the reason that my lord the king has come to his servant?” And David said to him, “So as to purchase the threshing floor from you, and to build an altar to the Lord, and to quiet the plague that rages among the people.”
22 Araunah said to David, 'Let my lord the king take it and make what offerings he thinks fit. Here arethe oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing-sleds and the oxen's yokes for the wood.	22 And Araunah said to David: “May my lord the king offer and accept whatever is pleasing to him. You have oxen for a holocaust, and the cart and the yokes of the oxen to use for wood.”
23 My lord the king's servant wil give the king everything. And', Araunah said to the king, 'may Yahwehyour God accept what you offer!'	23 All these things Araunah gave, as a king to a king. And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept your vow.”
24 'No,' said the king to Araunah, 'I shal give you a price for it; I will not offer Yahweh my God burntofferings which have cost me nothing.' David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.	24 And in response, the king said to him: “It shall not be as you wish. Instead, I will purchase it from you at a price. For I will not offer to the Lord, my God, holocausts that cost nothing.” Therefore, David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 David built an altar to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings and communion sacrifices. Yahweh thentook pity on the country and the plague was lifted from Israel.	25 And in that place, David built an altar to the Lord. And he offered holocausts and peace offerings. And the Lord was gracious to the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.