2 Samuel 24:5
ESV
They crossed the Jordan and began from Aroer, and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to Jazer.
NIV
After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.
NASB
They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the Valley of Gad and toward Jazer.
CSB
They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and then proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.
NLT
First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the town in the valley, in the direction of Gad. Then they went on to Jazer,
KJV
And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:
NKJV
And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer.
What does 2 Samuel 24:5 mean?
David has the regular army to make a census of the militia: men qualified to fight when called upon. Joab, army commander, knows this is a terrible idea. But David insists. Neither understands that the census is part of God's plan to punish Israel for an unnamed sin. David tells them to search "from Dan to Beersheba" (2 Samuel 24:1–4). The phrase refers to all of Israel, from north to south.It seems the counters skip Jerusalem and Benjamin, instead crossing the Jordan to the east. Aroer is in southeast Reuben. Reuben is east of the northern half of the Dead Sea and is one of the two-and-a-half tribes that settled east of the Jordan. Gad is north of Reuben. Jazer is probably in central Gad.
Then they go to Gilead, a general name for the area in southeast Manasseh, up to Kadesh to Dan. Dan is a city in the far north of East Manasseh, southwest of Moun Hermon and almost directly east of Tyre. From Dan, the counters travel northwest to Sidon, south to Tyre, and all the way south to Beersheba in Judah, at the edge of Negev (2 Samuel 24:6–7).
The route given covers the borders of Israel. It doesn't list the cities and farms in the interior, although they were undoubtedly included. When they finish, they count 800,000 men in the northern tribes of Israel and 500,000 in Judah. Scholars note that the Hebrew word for "thousands," 'eleph, can also be a nonspecific reference to "clans" or "divisions."
Joab is still convinced that the census will not please God, however. As a small attempt to mitigate the damage, he doesn't include the tribes of Benjamin or Levi in his report to David.
