2 Samuel 24 · Verse 10

2 Samuel 24:10

And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
2 Samuel 24:10, King James Version

2 Samuel 24:10 in other translations

BSBAfter David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
WEBDavid’s heart struck him after he had counted the people. David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in that which I have done. But now, the LORD, put away, I beg you, the iniquity of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.”
ASVAnd David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in that which I have done: but now, O Jehovah, put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
YLTAnd the heart of David smiteth him, after that he hath numbered the people, and David saith unto Jehovah, ‘I have sinned greatly in that which I have done, and now, O Jehovah, cause to pass away, I pray Thee, the iniquity of Thy servant, for I have acted very foolishly.'
DARBYAnd David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David said to Jehovah, I have sinned greatly in what I have done; and now, I beseech thee, Jehovah, put away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
BBEAnd after the people had been numbered, David's heart was troubled. And David said to the Lord, Great has been my sin in doing this; but now, O Lord, be pleased to take away the sin of your servant, for I have done very foolishly
WebsterAnd David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, I have sinned greatly in what I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

What does 2 Samuel 24:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 24:10-13
10-13. David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned--The act of numbering the people was not in itself sinful; for Moses did it by the express authority of God. But David acted not only independently of such order or sanction, but from motives unworthy of the delegated king of Israel; from pride and vainglory; from self-confidence and distrust of God; and, above all, from ambitious designs of conquest, in furtherance of which he was determined to force the people into military service, and to ascertain whether he could muster an army sufficient for the magnitude of the enterprises he contemplated. It was a breach of the constitution, an infringement of the liberties of the people, and opposed to that divine policy which required that Israel should continue a separate people. His eyes were not opened to the heinousness of his sin till God had spoken unto him by His commissioned prophet.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 David said - I have sinned greatly - We know not exactly in what this sin consisted. I have already hinted, 2Sam 24:1, that probably David now began to covet an extension of empire, and purposed to unite some of the neighboring states with his own; and having, through the suggestions of Satan or some other adversary, (for so the word implies), given way to this covetous disposition, he could not well look to God for help, and therefore wished to know whether the thousands of Israel and Judah might be deemed equal to the conquests which he meditated. When God is offended and refuses assistance, vain is the help of man.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 24:10-15
It is well, when a man has sinned, if he has a heart within to smite him for it. If we confess our sins, we may pray in faith that God would forgive them, and take away, by pardoning mercy, that sin which we cast away by sincere repentance. What we make the matter of our pride, it is just in God to take from us, or make bitter to us, and make it our punishment. This must be such a punishment as the people have a large share in, for though it was David's sin that opened the sluice, the sins of the people all contributed to the flood. In this difficulty, David chose a judgment which came immediately from God, whose mercies he knew to be very great, rather than from men, who would have triumphed in the miseries of Israel, and have been thereby hardened in their idolatry. He chose the pestilence; he and his family would be as much exposed to it as the poorest Israelite; and he would continue for a shorter time under the Divine rebuke, however severe it was. The rapid destruction by the pestilence shows how easily God can bring down the proudest sinners, and how much we owe daily to the Divine patience.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

2 Samuel 24:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּ֤ךְvai.Yakhand it struckH5221
לֵב\־lev-[the] heart ofH3820
דָּוִד֙da.VidDavidH1732
אֹת֔וֹ'o.To<obj.> himH853
אַחֲרֵי\־'a.cha.rei-afterH310
כֵ֖ןkhenthusH3651
סָפַ֣רsa.Farhe had countedH5608
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָעָ֑ם\ \סha.'Amthe peopleH5971
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
דָּוִ֜דda.VidDavidH1732
אֶל\־'el-toH413
יְהוָ֗הYah.wehYahwehH3068
חָטָ֤אתִיcha.Ta.tiI have sinnedH2398
מְאֹד֙me.'OdexceedinglyH3966
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sher[that] whichH834
עָשִׂ֔יתִי'a.Si.tiI have doneH6213
וְעַתָּ֣הve.'a.Tahand nowH6258
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehO YahwehH3068
הַֽעֲבֶר\־ha.'a.ver-take awayH5674
נָא֙na'pleaseH4994
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
עֲוֹ֣ן'a.Von[the] iniquity ofH5771
עַבְדְּךָ֔'av.de.Khaservant yourH5650
כִּ֥יkiforH3588
נִסְכַּ֖לְתִּיnis.Kal.tiI have acted foolishlyH5528
מְאֹֽד\׃me.'OdexceedinglyH3966

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Samuel 24:10

  • 2 Samuel 12:13

    And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

  • 1 Samuel 13:13

    And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

  • Proverbs 28:13

    He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

  • 1 Samuel 24:5

    And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.

  • 2 Chronicles 16:9

    For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

  • 1 John 1:9

    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

  • 1 Chronicles 21:8

    And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

  • Job 7:21

    And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

  • Psalms 32:5

    I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

  • Hosea 14:2

    Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

  • Titus 3:3

    For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

  • Job 33:27-28

    He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
David's heart.
1Sa 24:5; Joh 8:9; 1Jo 3:20,21
I have sinned.
12:13; 1Ch 21:8; 2Ch 32:26; Job 33:27,28; Ps 32:5; Pr 28:13
Mic 7:8,9; 1Jo 1:9
take away.
Job 7:21; Ho 14:2; Joh 1:29
foolishly.
12:13; De 32:6; 1Sa 13:13; 26:21; 2Ch 16:9; Mr 7:22; Tit 3:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Samuel 24:9

    And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

  • 2 Samuel 24:10

    And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

  • 2 Samuel 24:11

    For when David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

Read all of 2 Samuel 24

2 Samuel 24:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y después que David hubo contado el pueblo, punzóle su corazón; y dijo David á Jehová: Yo he pecado gravemente por haber hecho esto; mas ahora, oh Jehová, ruégote que quites el pecado de tu siervo, porque yo he obrado muy neciamente.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le cœur de David le reprit, après qu’il eut dénombré le peuple; et David dit à l’ Éternel: J’ai grandement péché dans ce que j’ai fait; et maintenant, ô Éternel, fais passer, je te prie, l’iniquité de ton serviteur, car j’ai agi très follement.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Aber dem David schlug sein Herz, nachdem er das Volk gezählt hatte; und David sprach zu Jehova: Ich habe sehr gesündigt in dem, was ich getan habe; und nun, Jehova, laß doch die Ungerechtigkeit deines Knechtes vorübergehen, denn ich habe sehr töricht gehandelt!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Percussit autem cor David eum, postquam numeratus est populus: et dixit David ad Dominum: Peccavi valde in hoc facto: sed precor, Domine, ut transferas iniquitatem servi tui, quia stulte egi nimis.