2 Samuel 24:1
ESV
Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go, number Israel and Judah."
NIV
Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah."
NASB
Now the anger of the Lord burned against Israel again, and He incited David against them to say, 'Go, count Israel and Judah.'
CSB
The Lord’s anger burned against Israel again, and he stirred up David against them to say: "Go, count the people of Israel and Judah."
NLT
Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. 'Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,' the Lord told him.
KJV
And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
NKJV
Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
What does 2 Samuel 24:1 mean?
Second Samuel 24 tells a curious story. God is angry with Israel. There's no indication that He's angry with David, personally, but David doesn't seem to recognize a sin. To set the scene so He can punish Israel, God uses Satan to provoke David to take a census of the fighting men (2 Samuel 24:9; 1 Chronicles 21:1).The text leaves many unknowns: Why is God angry with Israel? Why is God angry with Israel again? When does this take place? Why does God use a census, mandated by the king, to set things up so He can send a plague? Why does God use David if He's angry with Israel? Why does He use Satan?
We can carefully speculate about some of these questions. In the Old Testament, Israelite leaders took a nationwide census for one of two reasons: to collect a tax for the maintenance of the tabernacle (Exodus 30:11–16) or to determine the strength of the nation's fighting force (Numbers 1:44–46; 26:1).
It's possible David is taking the census because he's collecting supplies so Solomon can build the temple. This may be a way to calculate how much more David can tax the people. But if God is inciting David to take the census because He wants to punish all of Israel, this makes less sense. It's hard to imagine how Israel's sin and David's desire to collect more taxes would be related.
If Israel's sin and the census are related, it's more likely Israel and David are showing inappropriate pride in their military prowess. We can also consider the three inner levels of the chiasm—the mirror of themes—in 2 Samuel 21—24. Second Samuel 21:15–22 and 23:8–39 celebrate the exploits of David's fighting men. Second Samuel 22:1—23:7 is David's assertion that God rescues him from his enemies and that he rules well because he obeys God.
This makes it more likely that Israel has excessive pride in their military: that David is convinced to take the census because he wants to know how many reserve forces he has. Their sin is that they aren't trusting God for their protection, and they don't even realize it. So, God incites David to take the census to draw attention to their sin. Once David recognizes their—and his—sin, God judges them, using a plague to remove a tremendous number of potential soldiers from their fighting force ( 2 Samuel 24:15).
Throughout the Bible, God uses Satan and evil spirits to accomplish His will. Job is the most famous example (Job 1). God allowed evil spirits to afflict King Saul to bring about the events that led to David's rise to the kingship (1 Samuel 16:14). God also uses the sinful actions of other people to bring about His good purposes (Genesis 50:18–21). That doesn't mean God is evil. It means He can use evil to bring good.
To "incite" is to deceptively convince someone to do something. "Kindle" infers that God's anger is burning hot.
