2 Samuel 24:13
11 When 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.’”
So 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.”
14 David 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.”
15 So 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.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- So 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.”
- KJV
- So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
- WEB
- So Gad came to David, and told him, saying, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now answer, and consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.”
- ASV
- So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy foes while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days` pestilence in thy land? now advise thee, and consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
- DARBY
- And Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come to thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine adversaries while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days' pestilence in thy land? Now be aware and consider what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.
- BLB
- And Gad came to David and told him, and he said to him, “Shall come three years of famine to you in your land, or shall you flee three months before your enemy and he pursues you, or shall there be three days plague in your land? Now consider and see what word I should take back to Him who sent me.”
- ÅB
- Da kom Gad til David og forkynte ham dette og sa til ham: Vil du at det skal være hungersnød i ditt land i syv år, eller at du skal komme til å flykte for dine fiender i tre måneder, mens de forfølger deg, eller at det skal bli pest i ditt land i tre dager? Tenk nå etter og se til hva jeg skal svare ham som har sendt meg!
- OTB
- Så kom Gad til David og fortalte ham, "Skal sju år med hungersnød komme over deg i ditt land? Eller vil du flykte i tre måneder for dine fiender mens de forfølger deg? Eller skal det være tre dager med pest i ditt land? Nå, overvei og se hvilket svar jeg skal gi Ham som sendte meg."
- B1930
- Da kom Gad til David og forkynte ham dette og sa til ham: Vil du at det skal være hungersnød i ditt land i syv år, eller at du skal komme til å flykte for dine fiender i tre måneder, mens de forfølger dig, eller at det skal bli pest i ditt land i tre dager? Tenk nu efter og se til hvad jeg skal svare ham som har sendt mig!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
1 Chronicles 21:12
between three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies and overtaken by their swords, or three days of the sword of the LORD—days of plague upon the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”
Read in context2 Samuel 21:1
During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
Read in contextLeviticus 26:25
And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
Read in context1 Kings 17:1–7
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
Read in contextDeuteronomy 28:22
The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 28:25
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Read in contextLeviticus 26:36–37
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
Read in contextEzekiel 14:19–21
Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out My wrath upon it through bloodshed, cutting off from it both man and beast,
Read in context