Bible Glide

2 Samuel 24

2 Samuel 24 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

2 Samuel 24 tells how David's census leads to guilt, judgment, and mercy. The chapter moves from national counting to national suffering, then to confession, sacrifice, and the stopping of the plague. It shows the seriousness of sin and the hope found in turning back to the Lord.

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What happens in 2 Samuel 24?

David orders a census of Israel and Judah, even after Joab questions the decision. When the count is finished, David is struck by conscience and confesses that he has sinned. Through Gad the prophet, the Lord gives him three options for discipline, and David chooses to fall into the Lord's hand because of His mercy. A plague then falls on Israel, but the Lord stops the destroying angel near Araunah's threshing floor. David buys the site, builds an altar, and offers sacrifices, and the plague is halted.

This chapter closes the book of 2 Samuel with a final account of David's rule. After the songs, conflicts, and promises of earlier chapters, the focus turns to one last failure and God's response. The ending also points forward to the place where sacrifice and mercy meet, bringing the narrative to a sober but hopeful close.

Themes to notice

  • Sin and accountabilityDavid's census shows that even a king must answer to God for his actions.
  • Mercy in disciplineDavid chooses the Lord's hand because God's mercy is better than human violence.
  • Sacrifice and restorationThe altar and offerings mark a turning point where judgment is restrained and the land is spared.

Questions for 2 Samuel 24

  • Why did David's census become a serious spiritual problem?
  • What does David's response show about repentance and trust in God?
  • Why is the altar at Araunah's threshing floor important in the chapter?

Read the full text of 2 Samuel 24 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

2 Samuel 24

David’s Military Census

1Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”2So the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him, “Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”

3But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”

4Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army departed from the presence of the king to count the troops of Israel.5They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.6Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.7They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.8At the end of nine months and twenty days, having gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem.9And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.

Judgment for David’s Sin

10After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

11When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:12“Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”

13So Gad went and said to David, “Do you choose to endure three years of famine in your land, three months of fleeing the pursuit of your enemies, or three days of plague upon your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”

14David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

A Plague on Israel

15So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.16But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “Surely I, the shepherd, have sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand fall upon me and my father’s house.”

David Builds an Altar

18And that day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

19So David went up at the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded.20When Araunah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, he went out and bowed facedown before the king.21“Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said. “To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

22Araunah said to David, “My lord the king may take whatever seems good and offer it up. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.23O king, Araunah gives all these to the king.” He also said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”

24“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.25And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.

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