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2 Samuel 24:14

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Samuel 24:14 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

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.
2 Samuel 24:14 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Samuel 24

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
11And when David rose up in the morning, the word of Jehovah came unto the prophet Gad, David`s seer, saying,
12Go and speak unto David, Thus saith Jehovah, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
13So 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 thy foes while they pursue thee? or shall there be three days` pestilence in thy land? now advise thee, and consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
14And 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.
15So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.
16And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17And David spake unto Jehovah when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done perversely; but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father`s house.
← 2 Samuel 24:132 Samuel 24:15 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait, etc.] 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 (<132113>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,…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“David said, . . . Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord--His overwhelming sense of his sin led him to acquiesce in the punishment denounced, notwithstanding its apparent excess of severity. He proceeded on a good principle in choosing the pestilence. In pestilence he was equally exposed, as it was just and right he should be, to danger as his people, whereas, in war and famine, he possessed means of protection superior to them. Besides, he thereby showed his trust, founded on long experience, in the divine goodness.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I am in: Sa1 13:6; Kg2 6:15; Joh 12:27; Phi 1:23 for his: Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7; Ch1 21:13; Psa 51:1, Psa 86:5, Psa 86:15, Psa 103:8-14, Psa 119:156, Psa 145:9; Isa 55:7; Jon 4:2; Mic 7:18 great: or, many let me not: Kg2 13:3-7; Ch2 28:5-9; Psa 106:41, Psa 106:42; Pro 12:10; Isa 47:6; Zac 1:15 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 24:15”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification