2 Samuel 24:13
ESV
So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, "Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days ' pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me."
NIV
So Gad went to David and said to him, "Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me."
NASB
So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, 'Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee for three months before your enemies while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ of plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.'
CSB
So Gad went to David, told him the choices, and asked him, "Do you want three years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, consider carefully what answer I should take back to the one who sent me."
NLT
So Gad came to David and asked him, 'Will you choose three years of famine throughout your land, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.'
KJV
So 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 thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
NKJV
So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”
What does 2 Samuel 24:13 mean?
David has confessed to the Lord that he is guilty of great and foolish sin. He has asked the Lord to take away his iniquity (2 Samuel 24:10). The Lord responded through David's seer, Gad. Gad now delivers the Lord's message to David, allowing the king to choose the method of suffering to be brought against his people.The first option was three years of famine. Some translations of this verse use the number for seven instead of three. Translators of the ESV and NIV both follow the Septuagint and the number given in all translations of 1 Chronicles 21:12, which is three years instead of seven years. Three years of famine would absolutely devastate and weaken the nation for years to come.
The second option is for a powerful enemy to descend on David's kingdom and send him running for his life again, as he did during the exile from Saul and Absalom. The nation would suffer alongside David: "…three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you" (1 Chronicles 21:12).
The final option is much shorter: Three days of pestilence in the land. Again, the Chronicles version adds more detail: "three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel" (1 Chronicles 21:12, ESV). The word "pestilence" suggests a swarm of insects taking out needed crops. In this case, the pestilence will either take the form of God's angel striking people dead directly, or through some kind of sudden-onset illness. "Pestilence" also might refer to the bubonic plague, but it would be supernatural since it happened in such a wide area so quickly.
All three judgments are listed as the first wave of punishments in God's covenant with Israel (Leviticus 26:14–20). Both Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 have the form of a traditional ancient Suzerain-Vassal Treaty: a covenant between a sovereign ruler and his subjects. A sovereign allowing his subject to choose the punishment is unheard of. David didn't correct the Israelites' sin to begin with. God is forcing him to take responsibility for the punishment.
