2 Samuel 24:17

2 Samuel 24:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
• New International Version (NIV)When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, "Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”

Context of 2 Samuel 24:17

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. 16But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.” 18That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him.

2 Samuel 24:17 word by word

וַיֹּאמֶר֩ דָּוִ֨ד אֶל־יְהוָ֜ה בִּרְאֹת֣וֹ׀ אֶֽת־הַמַּלְאָ֣ךְ׀ הַמַּכֶּ֣ה בָעָ֗ם וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֤י הָֽרֹעֶה חָטָ֙אתִי֙ וְאָנֹכִ֣י הֶעֱוֵ֔יתִי וְאֵ֥לֶּה הַצֹּ֖אן מֶ֣ה עָשׂ֑וּ תְּהִ֨י נָ֥א יָדְךָ֛ בִּ֖י וּבְבֵ֥ית אָבִֽי׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• when he sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
• that smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• Lo, I have sinnedחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• and I have done wickedlyעָוָה‛âvâh · to pervertH5753
• but these sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
• what have they doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• let thine handיָדyâd · handH3027
• I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 24:17

• 1 Chronicles 21:16David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth with his sword drawn, reaching out over Jerusalem. So David and the leaders of Israel put on burlap to show their deep distress and fell face down on the ground.
• 2 Samuel 24:10But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.”
• Job 7:20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you?
• Job 42:6I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
• Psalms 51:2Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
• Isaiah 6:5Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
• 1 Kings 22:17Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.’”
• Psalms 44:11You have butchered us like sheep and scattered us among the nations.
• Psalms 74:1O God, why have you rejected us so long? Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture?
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?
• Zechariah 13:7“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.
• Genesis 44:33“So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.
• John 10:11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.
• 1 Peter 2:24He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 24:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17But these sheep, what have they done? - It seems that in the order of Providence there is no way of punishing kings in their regal capacity, but by afflictions on their land, in which the people must necessarily suffer. If the king, therefore, by his own personal offenses, in which the people can have no part, bring down God's judgments upon his people, (though they suffer innocently), grievous will be the account that he must give to God. The people…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Compare the passage in Chronicles. The account here is abridged; and 2 Samuel 24:18 has the appearance of being the original statement.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-17Verses 16-17 Perhaps there was more wickedness, especially more pride, and that was the sin now chastised, in Jerusalem than elsewhere, therefore the hand of the destroyer is stretched out upon that city; but the Lord repented him of the evil, changed not his mind, but his way. In the very place where Abraham was stayed from slaying his son, this angel, by a like countermand, was stayed from destroying Jerusalem. It is for the sake of the great Sacrifice…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17I, the shepherd, have sinned: Earlier, David confessed his sin only about his situation ("take away the iniquity of Your servant," 2 Samuel 24:10). Now, he prayed for those he thought were innocent (but see 2 Samuel 24:1) and offered to die for them. these sheep: David was the shepherd (a leader who guided, protected, and cared for the people) of Israel (see study note on 2 Samuel 7:8).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. David ... said--or, "had said," I have sinned ... but these sheep, what have they done?--The guilt of numbering the people lay exclusively with David. But in the body politic as well as natural, when the head suffers, all the members suffer along with it; and, besides, although David's sin was the immediate cause, the great increase of national offenses at this time had (2Sa 24:1) kindled the anger of the Lord.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 24:17

• Angel (a Spirit)
• Araunah
• Intercession
• Jerusalem
• Nation
• Ornan
• Plague
• Presumption
• Repentance
• Self-Condemnation
• Sin
• Threshing

In the dictionaries

• David
• Advise
• Angel
• Foolishly
• Gad
• Jebusites
• Jerusalem
• Offer
• Temptation
• Wickedly

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