2 Samuel 24
Open in the reader1Again the anger of He-Who-Is burned against Strives-with-God, and He stirred up Beloved against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Strives-with-God and Praised.”
2So the king said to He-Who-Is-Father the commander of his army, who was with him, “Go now throughout the tribes of Strives-with-God from Judge to Well-of-Oath and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”
3But He-Who-Is-Father replied to the king, “May He-Who-Is 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 He-Who-Is-Father and against the commanders of the army. So He-Who-Is-Father and the commanders of the army departed from the presence of the king to register the troops of Strives-with-God.
5They crossed the Descender and camped near Bare-Place, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Fortune and He-Helps.
6Then they went to Heap-of-Witness and the land of Tahtim-Hodshi, and on to Judge-jaan and around to Sidon.
7They went toward the fortress of The-Rock and all the cities of the Tent-Villagers and Humbled-Ones. Finally, they went on to South-Country of Praised, to Well-of-Oath.
8At the end of nine months and twenty days, having gone through the whole land, they returned to Foundation-of-Peace.
9And He-Who-Is-Father reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Strives-with-God there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Praised there were 500,000.
10After Beloved had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to He-Who-Is, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O He-Who-Is, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
11When Beloved got up in the morning, the word of He-Who-Is had come to Fortune the prophet, Beloved’s seer:
12“Go and tell Beloved that this is what He-Who-Is says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”
13So Fortune went and said to Beloved, “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.”
14Beloved answered Fortune, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of He-Who-Is, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”
15So He-Who-Is sent a plague upon Strives-with-God from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people from Judge to Well-of-Oath died.
16But when the messenger stretched out his hand to destroy Foundation-of-Peace, He-Who-Is relented from the calamity and said to the messenger who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the messenger of He-Who-Is was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Trodden-One.
17When Beloved saw the messenger striking down the people, he said to He-Who-Is, “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.”
18And that day Fortune came to Beloved and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to He-Who-Is on the threshing floor of Araunah the Trodden-One.”
19So Beloved went up at the word of Fortune, just as He-Who-Is 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,” Beloved replied, “that I may build an altar to He-Who-Is, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”
22Araunah said to Beloved, “May my lord the king take whatever seems good to him 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 He-Who-Is your God accept you.”
24“No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to He-Who-Is my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So Beloved bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25And there he built an altar to He-Who-Is and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then He-Who-Is answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Strives-with-God was halted.