The Lord was very angry with Israel. He stirred up David against them. He said,“ Go! Count the men of Israel and Judah.”So the king spoke to Joab and the army commanders with him. He said,“ Go all through the territories of the tribes of Israel. Go from the town of Dan all the way to Beersheba. Count the fighting men. Then I’ll know how many there are.”Joab replied to the king. He said,“ King David, you are my master. May the Lord your God multiply the troops 100 times. And may you live to see it. But why would you want me to count the fighting men?”The king’s word had more authority than the word of Joab and the army commanders. That was true in spite of what Joab had said. So they left the king and went out to count the fighting men of Israel.They went across the Jordan River. They camped south of the town in the middle of the Arnon River valley near Aroer. Then they went through Gad and continued on to Jazer.They went to Gilead and the area of Tahtim Hodshi. They continued to Dan Jaan and on around toward Sidon.Then they went toward the fort of Tyre. They went to all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba. It was in the Negev Desert of Judah.They finished going through the entire land. Then they came back to Jerusalem. They had been gone for nine months and 20 days.Joab reported to the king how many fighting men he had counted. In Israel there were 800,000 men who were able to handle a sword. In Judah there were 500,000.David felt sorry that he had counted the fighting men. So he said to the Lord,“ I committed a great sin when I counted Judah and Israel’s men. Lord, I beg you to take away my guilt. I’ve done a very foolish thing.”
After the plague, the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar the priest. Eleazar was the son of Aaron. The Lord said,“ Count all the men of Israel. Make a list of them by their families. Count all the men who are able to serve in Israel’s army. They must be 20 years old or more.”
