2 Samuel 24 · Verse 14

2 Samuel 24:14

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
2 Samuel 24:14, King James Version

2 Samuel 24:14 in other translations

BSBDavid answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”
WEBDavid said to Gad, “I am in distress. Let us fall now into the LORD’s hand, for his mercies are great. Let me not fall into man’s hand.”
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd David saith unto Gad, ‘I have great distress, let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah, for many are His mercies, and into the hand of man let me not fall.'
DARBYAnd David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.
BBEAnd David said to Gad, This is a hard decision for me to make: let us come into the hands of the Lord, for great are his mercies: let me not come into the hands of men.
WebsterAnd David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

What does 2 Samuel 24:14 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
14. 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. 2Sa 24:15-25. His Intercession to God; the Plague Ceases.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord - David acted nobly in this business. Had he chosen war, his own personal safety was in no danger, because there was already an ordinance preventing him from going to battle. Had he chosen famine, his own wealth would have secured his and his own family's support. But he showed the greatness of his mind in choosing the pestilence, to the ravages of which himself and household were exposed equally with the meanest of his subjects.

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…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 24:10-15 →

2 Samuel 24:14 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.

וַיֹּ֧אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
דָּוִ֛דda.VidDavidH1732
אֶל\־'el-toH413
גָּ֖דgadGadH1410
צַר\־tzar-it is distressH6862
לִ֣יlito <the> me
מְאֹ֑דme.'OdexceedinglyH3966
נִפְּלָה\־ni.pe.lah-let us fallH5307
נָּ֤אna'pleaseH4994
בְיַד\־ve.yad-in [the] hand ofH3027
יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahwehH3068
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
רַבִּ֣יםra.Bim[are] greatH7227
רַֽחֲמָ֔יוra.cha.mocompassion<s> hisH7356
וּבְיַד\־u.ve.yad-and in [the] hand ofH3027
אָדָ֖ם'a.DamhumankindH120
אַל\־'al-may notH408
אֶפֹּֽלָה\׃'e.Po.lahI fallH5307

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 24:14

  • Psalms 119:156

    Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord: quicken me according to thy judgments.

  • Psalms 51:1

    To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath–sheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

  • 1 Chronicles 21:13

    And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.

  • Jonah 4:2

    And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

  • Psalms 106:41-42

    And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

  • Psalms 86:15

    But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

  • Psalms 130:4

    But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

  • Psalms 145:9

    The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

  • Psalms 103:8-14

    The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. …

  • Isaiah 55:7

    Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

  • 2 Kings 13:3-7

    And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben–hadad the son of Hazael, all their days. And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. (And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) …

  • Psalms 86:5

    For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I am in.
1Sa 13:6; 2Ki 6:15; Joh 12:27; Php 1:23
for his.
Ex 34:6,7; 1Ch 21:13; Ps 51:1; 86:5,15; 103:8-14; 119:156; 145:9
Isa 55:7; Jon 4:2; Mic 7:18
great. or, many. let me not.
2Ki 13:3-7; 2Ch 28:5-9; Ps 106:41,42; Pr 12:10; Isa 47:6; Zec 1:15

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

Context

  • 2 Samuel 24:13

    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.

  • 2 Samuel 24:14

    And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

  • 2 Samuel 24:15

    So the Lord 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.

Read all of 2 Samuel 24

2 Samuel 24:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces David dijo á Gad: En grande angustia estoy: ruego que caiga en la mano de Jehová, porque sus miseraciones son muchas, y que no caiga yo en manos de hombres.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et David dit à Gad: Je suis dans une grande détresse. Que nous tombions, je te prie, dans les mains de l’ Éternel, car ses compassions sont grandes; et que je ne tombe point dans la main des hommes.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und David sprach zu Gad: Mir ist sehr angst! Mögen wir doch in die Hand Jehovas fallen, denn seine Erbarmungen sind groß; aber in die Hand der Menschen laß mich nicht fallen!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Dixit autem David ad Gad: Coarctor nimis: sed melius est ut incidam in manus Domini (multæ enim misericordiæ ejus sunt) quam in manus hominum.