2 Samuel 24:13

2 Samuel 24:13 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, "Shall three 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 consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

Context of 2 Samuel 24:13

11While David slept that night, the Lord gave a message to Gad, David's prophet. 12The Lord told him, ‘Go and give my message to David: “There are three ways that I could punish you. You must choose one of them, and that is what I will do to punish you.” ’ So when David woke up, Gad went to him and he said, ‘You may choose to have three years when there will be a famine in the whole country. Or you may choose to have three months when your enemies are chasing after you. Or you may choose to have three days of very bad disease in the whole country. Now think carefully and decide. I will take your answer to God, who sent me with this message.’ 14David said to Gad, ‘I am very upset. I do not want men to punish me. The Lord is kind and he forgives people. So it would be better for him to punish me.’ 15So, from that morning, the Lord caused a bad disease to kill people in Israel. It continued for three days, as the Lord had said. 70,000 Israelite men died in that time, in the whole country, from Dan to Beersheba.

2 Samuel 24:13 word by word

וַיָּבֹא־גָ֥ד אֶל־דָּוִ֖ד וַיַּגֶּד־ל֑וֹ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֡וֹ הֲתָב֣וֹא לְךָ֣ שֶֽׁבַע שָׁנִ֣ים׀ רָעָ֣ב׀ בְּאַרְצֶ֡ךָ אִם־שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה חֳ֠דָשִׁים נֻסְךָ֨ לִפְנֵֽי־צָרֶ֜יךָ וְה֣וּא רֹדְפֶ֗ךָ וְאִם־הֱ֠יוֹת שְׁלֹ֨שֶׁת יָמִ֥ים דֶּ֙בֶר֙ בְּאַרְצֶ֔ךָ עַתָּה֙ דַּ֣ע וּרְאֵ֔ה מָה־אָשִׁ֥יב שֹׁלְחִ֖י דָּבָֽר׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• So Gadגָּדgâd · GadH1410
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• and toldנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
• him, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto him, Shall sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• of famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• unto thee in thy landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• or wilt thou fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
• threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• monthsחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · monthH2320
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• thine enemiesצַרtsar tsâr · enemyH6862
• while they pursueרָדַףrâdaph · to pursueH7291
• days’יוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• pestilenceדֶּ֫בֶרdeber · pestilenceH1698
• now adviseיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• and seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: selectH7200
• what answerדָּבָרdâbâr · word: speakingH1697
• I shall returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• to him that sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 24:13

• 2 Samuel 21:1While David was king, there was a famine in Israel for three years. So David asked the Lord what had caused this trouble. The Lord said, ‘Saul's family is guilty of murder, because Saul killed many of the Gibeonites.’
• Leviticus 26:20Even if they do a lot of work, no grain will grow. No fruit will grow on the trees.
• 1 Kings 17:1There was a prophet called Elijah who came from Tishbe in Gilead. He said to King Ahab, ‘I am a servant of the Lord, Israel's God. As surely as God lives, there will be no rain or dew for the next few years. Nothing will make the ground wet until I command it to happen.’
• 1 Chronicles 21:12You may choose to have three years when there will be a famine. Or you may choose to have three months when you have to run away from your enemies' swords so that they do not kill you. Or you may choose to have three days when a very bad disease comes to your people. The angel of the Lord would kill many people in every part of Israel.” Now decide which punishment you will choose. I will take your answer to God, who sent me with this message.’
• Ezekiel 14:13‘Son of man, the people of a whole nation may choose not to obey me. Then I would punish them because of their sins. I might stop the people getting any food to eat. Then there would be a famine that kills both people and animals.
• Luke 4:25What I tell you is true. There were many widows in the country of Israel when Elijah was alive. At that time, it did not rain for three and a half years. So people were very hungry in all the country.
• Leviticus 26:17God will fight against you. Your enemies will win the war. They will become your rulers. Your soldiers will run away even when nobody is running after them.
• Deuteronomy 28:25The Lord will let your enemies knock you down. You will attack them from one direction, but you will run away from them in seven directions. When the people of other nations see what has happened to you, they will see it is a terrible thing.
• Leviticus 26:16So God will send diseases to the people. They will be afraid. The people will have diseases in their eyes. They will get thin and they will die. They will plant their seed and their enemies will eat the fruit.
• Deuteronomy 28:22The Lord will give you many kinds of disease. Your bodies will become weak and very hot. They will grow big and have a lot of pain. He will send great heat and there will be no rain. Your crops will all become spoiled. You will have all this pain until you die.
• Psalms 91:6Do not be afraid of any illness that comes when it is dark, or any trouble that comes in the middle of the day.
• Ezekiel 14:19Or I might punish that nation with a terrible disease. Because I am very angry with those people, I would cause people and animals to die in that place.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 24:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Shall seven years of famine - In 1 Chronicles 21:12, the number is three, not seven; and here the Septuagint has three, the same as in Chronicles: this is no doubt the true reading, the letter ז zain, Seven, being mistaken for ג gimel, Three. A mistake of this kind might be easily made from the similarity of the letters.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Compare Ezekiel 14:13-21. The “seven” years of famine correspond with the “seven” years of famine in Genesis 41:27, Genesis 41:30, and with the same number of years in 2 Kings 8:1. But in Chronicles, it is “three years,” which agrees better with the “three” months and “three” days. The whole passage is amplified in Chronicles, which has less the aspect of an original text than this.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-15Verses 10-15 It is well, when a man has sinned, if he has a heart within to smite him for it. If we confess our sins, we may pray in faith that God would forgive them, and take away, by pardoning mercy, that sin which we cast away by sincere repentance. What we make the matter of our pride, it is just in God to take from us, or make bitter to us, and make it our punishment. This must be such a punishment as the people have a large share in, for though it…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13David had already experienced the first two options. He had fled from Saul and later from Absalom. He had also lived through a famine caused by Saul’s murder of the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1). At first, three days of severe plague may have seemed less frightening. However, the plague caused the deaths of 70,000 people (2 Samuel 24:15).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1310-13. David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned--The act of numbering the people was not in itself sinful; for Moses did it by the express authority of God. But David acted not only independently of such order or sanction, but from motives unworthy of the delegated king of Israel; from pride and vainglory; from self-confidence and distrust of God; and, above all, from ambitious designs of…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 24:13

• Contingencies
• Gad
• Nation
• Plague
• Presumption
• Reproof
• Seven

In the dictionaries

• David
• Gad
• Advise
• Foolishly
• Numbering of the people
• Offer
• Temptation
• Wickedly
• Advice; Advise; Advisement
• Guilt

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings