2 Samuel 24:14

Easy-to-Read Version

David said to Gad, "This is a terrible situation to be in. But it would be better to be punished by the Lord than by anyone else, because he is very merciful."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord’s hands because his mercies are great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.”

Hebrew Names Version
David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.

King James Version
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord ; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

English Standard Version
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord , for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man."

New Century Version
David said to Gad, "I am in great trouble. Let the Lord punish us, because the Lord is very merciful. Don't let my punishment come from human beings!"

New English Translation
David said to Gad, "I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord , for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!"

Amplified Bible
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hands of man."

New American Standard Bible
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into human hands."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Dauid said vnto Gad, I am in a wonderfull strait: let vs fall nowe into the hand of the Lord, (for his mercies are great) and let mee not fall into the hand of man.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of Yahweh, for His compassions are abundant. But do not let me fall into the hand of man."

Contemporary English Version
David was really frightened and said, "It's a terrible choice to make! But the Lord is kind, and I'd rather have him punish us than for anyone else to do it."

Complete Jewish Bible
David said to Gad, "This is very hard for me. Let us fall into the hand of Adonai , because his mercies are great, rather than have me fall into the hand of man."

Darby Translation
And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.

George Lamsa Translation
Then David answered and said to the prophet Gad, I am greatly distressed; it is better for me to be punished by the hand of the LORD our God; for his mercies are great: let us not be punished by the hand of men.

Good News Translation
David answered, "I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by people. Let the Lord himself be the one to punish us, for he is merciful."

Lexham English Bible
Then David said to Gad, "I am greatly distressed. Please let us fall into the hand of Yahweh, because he is great in his compassion; but into the hand of man don't let me fall."

Literal Translation
And David said, Because of this it is great distressing to me. Let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah, for many are His mercies; and do not let me fall into the hand of man.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Dauid sayde vnto Gad: I am in extreme trouble. Neuertheles (yf it maye be) let me rather fall in to ye handes of the LORDE (for his mercy is greate) I wyll not fall in to the handes of men.

American Standard Version
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.

Bible in Basic English
And David said to Gad, This is a hard decision for me to make: let us come into the hands of the Lord, for great are his mercies: let me not come into the hands of men.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dauid saide vnto Gad, I am in a wonderfull strayte: Let vs fall now into the hand of the Lorde (for much is his mercy) and let me not fall into the hand of man.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And David said unto Gad: 'I am in a great strait; let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for His mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.'

King James Version (1611)
And Dauid saide vnto Gad, I am in a great strait: let vs fall now into the hand of the Lord (for his mercies are great,) and let me not fall into the hand of man.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David said to Gad, On every side I am much straitened: let me fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his compassions are very many; and let me not fall into the hands of man.

English Revised Version
And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

Berean Standard Bible
David answered Gad, "I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Dauid seide to Gad, Y am constreyned on ech side greetli; but it is betere that Y falle in to the hondis of the Lord [Note: if Dauyth hadde chose huugur of vii. yeer, he and riche men wolden haue purueyed to hem silf of liyflode, and pore men schulden haue be turmentid gretly; and if he hadde chose fliyt bifor enemyes, he and myyty men schulden haue be defendid and pore men slayn, therfor he chees pestilence, comyn peyne to alle, for he tristide in Goddis mersi. ], for his emercies ben manye, than in the hondis of men.

Young's Literal Translation
And David saith unto Gad, `I have great distress, let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for many [are] His mercies, and into the hand of man let me not fall.'

Update Bible Version
And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Yahweh; for his mercies are great; and don't let me fall into the hand of man.

Webster's Bible Translation
And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies [are] great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

World English Bible
David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Yahweh; for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.

New King James Version
And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

New Living Translation
"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."

New Life Bible
David said to Gad, "I am in much trouble. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His loving-kindness is great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man."

New Revised Standard
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord , for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into human hands."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And David said unto Gad - I am in a great strait, - let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Yahweh, for, manifold, are, his compassions, but, into the hand of man, let me not fall.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And David said to Gad: I am in a great strait: but it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men.

Revised Standard Version
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man."

THE MESSAGE
David told Gad, "They're all terrible! But I'd rather be punished by God , whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ David felt ashamed after he had counted the people and said to the Lord , "I have sinned greatly in what I did! Lord , I beg you, forgive me for my sin. I have been very foolish." ¹¹ When David got up in the morning, the Lord gave this message to Gad, David's seer: ¹² "Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: There are three ways you can be punished. Choose the one you want.'" ¹³ So Gad went to David and said to him, "Choose one of these three: seven years of famine for you and your country, being chased by your enemies for three months, or three days of disease in your country. Think about it, and decide which one you want. I must give your answer to the one who sent me." ¹⁴ David said to Gad, "This is a terrible situation to be in. But it would be better to be punished by the Lord than by anyone else, because he is very merciful." ¹⁵ So the Lord sent a disease against Israel. It began in the morning and continued until the chosen time to stop. From Dan to Beersheba 70,000 people died. ¹⁶ The angel raised his arm over Jerusalem and was ready to destroy it, but the Lord felt very sorry about the bad things that had happened. He said to the angel who destroyed the people, "That's enough! Put down your arm." The Lord 's angel was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷ When he saw the angel who killed the people, David spoke to the Lord . David said, "I sinned! I did wrong! And these people only did what I told them—they only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Please let your punishment be against me and my father's family."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I am in: 1 Samuel 13:6, 2 Kings 6:15, John 12:27, Philippians 1:23

for his: Exodus 34:6, Exodus 34:7, 1 Chronicles 21:13, Psalms 51:1, Psalms 86:5, Psalms 86:15, Psalms 103:8-14, Psalms 119:156, Psalms 145:9, Isaiah 55:7, Jonah 4:2, Micah 7:18

great: or, many

let me not: 2 Kings 13:3-7, 2 Chronicles 28:5-9, Psalms 106:41, Psalms 106:42, Proverbs 12:10, Isaiah 47:6, Zechariah 1:15

Reciprocal: Joshua 9:25 - we are Judges 10:15 - deliver 2 Samuel 24:25 - So the Lord 1 Kings 20:6 - and they shall search 1 Chronicles 21:12 - Now therefore 2 Chronicles 12:5 - left you Proverbs 6:3 - when Jeremiah 39:17 - of whom Ezekiel 23:24 - I will set Luke 9:44 - into

Cross-References

Genesis 15:8
But Abram said, "Lord God , how can I be sure that I will get this land?"

Genesis 24:1
Abraham lived to be a very old man. The Lord blessed him and everything he did.

Genesis 24:2
Abraham's oldest servant was in charge of everything he owned. Abraham called that servant to him and said, "Put your hand under my leg.

Genesis 24:7
The Lord , the God of heaven, brought me from my homeland to this place. That place was the home of my father and the home of my family, but he promised that this new land would belong to my family. May he send his angel before you so that you can choose a wife for my son.

Genesis 24:8
If the girl refuses to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back to that place."

Genesis 24:9
So the servant put his hand under his master's leg and made the promise.

Genesis 24:10
The servant took ten of Abraham's camels and left that place. The servant carried with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Mesopotamia, to Nahor's city.

Genesis 24:11
In the evening, when the women come out to get water, he went to the water well outside the city. He made the camels kneel down at the well.

Genesis 24:13
Here I am, standing by this well of water, and the young women from the city are coming out to get water.

Genesis 24:15
Before the servant finished praying, a young woman named Rebekah came to the well. She was the daughter of Bethuel. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham's brother.) Rebekah came to the well with her water jar on her shoulder.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait,.... Not knowing well which to choose, each of them being so grievous, and an answer being to be returned immediately; but by his next words, and by the event, it seems he chose the pestilence, though that is not expressly said:

let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; the Targum in

1 Chronicles 21:13, is

"into the hand of the Word of the Lord:''

(for his mercies [are] great), and let me not fall into the hand of men; indeed all the three judgments mentioned are by the hand of the Lord whenever they come; but in the pestilence the hand of the Lord is more visible, it coming immediately from his hand, as especially this was to do, and did; it did not arise from second causes, a noxious air, c. but by means of an angel of God: David chose this, because he and his people would have nothing to do with men, as in famine they must have gone into other countries for food, and in war flee before their enemies, and lie at their mercy, and either of them more disgraceful than this and which he might the rather choose on his own account, that his people might not be able to say he sought himself and his own interest; for had he chosen famine, as his people had been lately distressed that way already, they might, besides urging that, say, that he could lay up stores for himself and family; or had he chosen war, they might observe he had fortified places to flee to, one after another, and shelter himself; but for the arrows of the pestilence he was as likely a mark as the meanest of his subjects: but what seems to have moved him chiefly to make this choice is, that it would not only be the soonest over, but that it wholly depended on the pleasure of God what use he would make of it in that time; and chiefly because he knew God was gracious and merciful, and it was upon his great mercy he cast himself and his people.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 24:14. I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord — David acted nobly in this business. Had he chosen war, his own personal safety was in no danger, because there was already an ordinance preventing him from going to battle. Had he chosen famine, his own wealth would have secured his and his own family's support. But he showed the greatness of his mind in choosing the pestilence, to the ravages of which himself and household were exposed equally with the meanest of his subjects.