2 Samuel 24

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
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.”	1 The LORD'S anger against Israel flared again, and he incited David against the Israelites by prompting him to number Israel and Judah.
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.”	2 Accordingly the king said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him, "Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the people, that I may know their number."
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?”	3 But Joab said to the king: "May the LORD your God increase the number of people a hundredfold for your royal majesty to see it with his own eyes. But why does it please my lord the king to order a thing of this kind?"
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.	4 The king, however, overruled Joab and the leaders of the army, so they left the king's presence in order to register the people of Israel.
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.	5 Crossing the Jordan, they began near Aroer, south of the city in the wadi, and went in the direction of Gad toward Jazer.
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,	6 They continued on to Gilead and to the district below Mount Hermon. Then they proceeded to Dan; from there they turned toward Sidon,
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.	7 going to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and ending up at Beer-sheba in the Negeb of Judah.
8 And having inspected the entire land, after nine months and twenty days, they were present in Jerusalem.	8 Thus they toured the whole country, reaching Jerusalem again after nine months and twenty days.
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.	9 Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered: in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service; in Judah, five hundred thousand.
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.”	10 Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people, and said to the LORD: "I have sinned grievously in what I have done. But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of your servant, for I have been very foolish."
11 And David rose up in the morning, and the word of the Lord went to Gad, the prophet and seer of David, saying:	11 When David rose in the morning, the LORD had spoken to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying:
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.’ ”	12 "Go and say to David, 'This is what the LORD says: I offer you three alternatives; choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you.'"
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.”	13 Gad then went to David to inform him. He asked: "Do you want a three years' famine to come upon your land, or to flee from your enemy three months while he pursues you, or to have a three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what I must reply to him who sent me."
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.”	14 David answered Gad: "I am in very serious difficulty. Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful; but let me not fall by the hand of man."
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.	15 Thus David chose the pestilence. Now it was the time of the wheat harvest when the plague broke out among the people. (The LORD then sent a pestilence over Israel from morning until the time appointed, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba died.)
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.	16 But when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD regretted the calamity and said to the angel causing the destruction among the people, "Enough now! Stay your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
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.”	17 When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the LORD: "It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have they done? Punish me and my kindred."
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.”	18 On the same day Gad went to David and said to him, "Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."
19 And David ascended in accord with the word of Gad, which the Lord had commanded to him.	19 Following Gad's bidding, David went up as the LORD had commanded.
20 And looking out, Araunah turned his attention to the king and his servants, passing toward him.	20 Now Araunah looked down and noticed the king and his servants coming toward him while he was threshing wheat. So he went out and paid homage to the king, with face to the ground.
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.”	21 Then Araunah asked, "Why does my lord the king come to his servant?" David replied, "To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be checked among the people."
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.”	22 But Araunah said to David: "Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever he may wish. Here are oxen for holocausts, and threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for wood.
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.”	23 All this does Araunah give to the king." Araunah then said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept your offering."
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.	24 The king, however, replied to Araunah, "No, I must pay you for it, for I cannot offer to the LORD my God holocausts that cost nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty silver shekels.
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.	25 Then David built an altar there to the LORD, and offered holocausts and peace offerings. The LORD granted relief to the country, and the plague was checked in Israel.