New Living Translation
2 Samuel 24:13
13So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”
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
11The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: 12“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’” So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.” 14“I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.” 15So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.
Read all of 2 Samuel 242 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 21:1There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, “The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites.”
- Leviticus 26:20All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit.
- 1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
- 1 Chronicles 21:12You may choose three years of famine, three months of destruction by the sword of your enemies, or three days of severe plague as the angel of the Lord brings devastation throughout the land of Israel. Decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”
- Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals.
- Luke 4:25“Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land.
- Leviticus 26:17I will turn against you, and you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will run even when no one is chasing you!
- Deuteronomy 28:25“The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Leviticus 26:16I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you—wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will plant your crops in vain because your enemies will eat them.
- Deuteronomy 28:22The Lord will strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die.
- Psalms 91:6Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
- Ezekiel 14:19“Or suppose I were to pour out my fury by sending an epidemic into the land, and the disease killed people and animals alike.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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