2 Samuel 24:10-14·~1 min

Judgment for David’s Sin

After numbering the troops, David’s heart strikes him, and he confesses his sin and folly before the LORD.

A¹⁰fter 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.”

The LORD speaks through Gad and offers David three forms of judgment. Distressed, David chooses to fall into the LORD’s hand because the LORD’s mercies are great.

¹¹When David got up in the morning, the word of 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.”

Section summaryOnce the count is finished, David is struck in conscience and confesses his foolish sin before the LORD. Through Gad, the LORD sets three judgments before him, and David chooses to fall into the LORD’s hand rather than into human hands.

Role in the chapterThis section turns the chapter from action to recognition and sentence. It names the census as sin and frames what follows as judgment tempered by trust in the LORD’s mercy.