1 Chronicles 21:7-17

7Now 1God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel. 8David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, 2by doing this thing. 3But now, please overlook Your servant’s guilt, for I have behaved very foolishly.”

9The Lord spoke to 4Gad, David’s 5seer, saying, 10“Go and speak to David, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I extend to you three choices; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” 11So Gad came to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take for yourself 126three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord: a plague in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout the territory of Israel.’ Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall bring back to Him who sent me.” 13David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, 7for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into human hands.”

148So the Lord 9sent a plague on Israel; seventy thousand men of Israel fell. 15And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and 10was sorry about the catastrophe, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of 11Ornan the Jebusite. 16Then David raised his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, 12covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17And David said to God, “Is it not I who 13commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly, 14but these sheep, what have they done? Lord, my God, just let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, and not against Your people as a plague.”