35Hetzrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbitite,

36Yigal the son of Nathan of Zoba, the Bath of the Gadite,

37Zelek the Ammonite, Nacharai the Berothite, armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah,

38Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

39Uriah the Hittite. There are thirty-seven of them.

24

1The anger of the Lord was again kindled against Israel, and he stirred up David in them, saying, "Go and number Israel and Judah."

2King Joab said to the captain who was with him, "Go through all the tribes of Israel [and Judah] from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know the number of the people."

3Joab said to the king, "May the LORD your God multiply as many people as there are, and a hundred times more, and let the eyes of my lord the king see this. But why does my lord the king desire this work?

4But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the captains of the army; And Joab went with the captains of the army from the king to count the people of Israel.

5So they crossed the Jordan and stopped at Aroer, on the right side of the city, which is in the middle of the valley of Gad, to Jazer.

6And they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-Khodshi; And they came to Dan-Jaan, and went round Sidon;

7And they came to the fortification of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites, and went south of Judah to Beersheba.

8And they went about all the earth, and came in nine months and twenty days to Jerusalem.

9So Joab gave the list of the census to the king; and it came to pass that the Israelites were eight hundred thousand mighty men, capable of war, and the Judahites five hundred thousand.

10David's heart trembled after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, "I have sinned grievously, having done this; and now I beseech Thee, O Lord, to forgive the sin of Thy servant, for I have acted exceedingly unwisely.

11When David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord came to Gad the prophet, David's seer:

12Go and say to David, 'This is what the Lord says, 'I have set before you three chastisements; choose for yourself one of them, which would be done to you.

13Gad went to David and told him and said to him, "Choose for yourselves whether there will be famine in your country for seven years, or that you flee from your enemies for three months and they pursue you, or that there be a pestilence in your country for three days." now judge and decide what I should answer to Him who sent me.

14David said to Gad, "It is very hard for me; but let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercy is great; if only I do not fall into the hands of men. [And David chose for himself a pestilence in the time of the wheat harvest.]

15And the Lord sent a plague upon the Israelites from the morning until the appointed time. And seventy thousand of the people died, from Dan to Bathsheba.