8. After 9 months and 20 days, they had gone through all the land. Then they came back to Jerusalem.
9. Joab gave the list of the people to the king. There were 800,000 men in Israel who could use the sword. And there were 500,000 men in Judah.
10. David felt ashamed after he had counted the people. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done! Lord, I beg you, forgive my sin! I have been very foolish.”
11. Before David got up in the morning, the Lord spoke his word to Gad. He was a prophet and David’s seer.
12. The Lord told Gad, “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I offer you three choices. Choose one for me to do to you.’”
13. Gad went to David and told him. Gad said, “Choose one of these three things. Should three years of hunger come to you and your land? Or should your enemies chase you for three months? Or should there be three days of disease in your country? Think about it. Then decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me.”
14. David said to Gad, “I am really in trouble. But the Lord is very merciful. So let the Lord punish us. Don’t let my punishment come from people!”
15. So the Lord sent disease on Israel. It began in the morning. And it continued until the chosen time to stop. From Dan to Beersheba 70,000 people died.
16. The angel raised his arm toward Jerusalem to destroy it also. But the Lord felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “That’s enough! Put down your arm!” At this time the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17. David saw the angel that killed the people. Then he said to the Lord, “I’ve sinned! I’ve done wrong! But these people only followed me like sheep! They did nothing wrong! Please let your punishment be against me and my father’s family!”