2 Samuel 24:14

Bible in Basic English

And 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.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord’s hands because his mercies are great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.”

Hebrew Names Version
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.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord , for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man."

New Century Version
David said to Gad, "I am in great trouble. Let the Lord punish us, because the Lord is very merciful. Don't let my punishment come from human beings!"

New English Translation
David said to Gad, "I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord , for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!"

Amplified Bible
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hands of man."

New American Standard Bible
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into human hands."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Dauid said vnto Gad, I am in a wonderfull strait: let vs fall nowe into the hand of the Lord, (for his mercies are great) and let mee not fall into the hand of man.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of Yahweh, for His compassions are abundant. But do not let me fall into the hand of man."

Contemporary English Version
David was really frightened and said, "It's a terrible choice to make! But the Lord is kind, and I'd rather have him punish us than for anyone else to do it."

Complete Jewish Bible
David said to Gad, "This is very hard for me. Let us fall into the hand of Adonai , because his mercies are great, rather than have me fall into the hand of man."

Darby Translation
And 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.

Easy-to-Read Version
David said to Gad, "This is a terrible situation to be in. But it would be better to be punished by the Lord than by anyone else, because he is very merciful."

George Lamsa Translation
Then David answered and said to the prophet Gad, I am greatly distressed; it is better for me to be punished by the hand of the LORD our God; for his mercies are great: let us not be punished by the hand of men.

Good News Translation
David answered, "I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by people. Let the Lord himself be the one to punish us, for he is merciful."

Lexham English Bible
Then David said to Gad, "I am greatly distressed. Please let us fall into the hand of Yahweh, because he is great in his compassion; but into the hand of man don't let me fall."

Literal Translation
And David said, Because of this it is great distressing to me. Let us fall now into the hand of Jehovah, for many are His mercies; and do not let me fall into the hand of man.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Dauid sayde vnto Gad: I am in extreme trouble. Neuertheles (yf it maye be) let me rather fall in to ye handes of the LORDE (for his mercy is greate) I wyll not fall in to the handes of men.

American Standard Version
And 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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dauid saide vnto Gad, I am in a wonderfull strayte: Let vs fall now into the hand of the Lorde (for much is his mercy) and let me not fall into the hand of man.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.'

King James Version (1611)
And Dauid saide vnto Gad, I am in a great strait: let vs fall now into the hand of the Lord (for his mercies are great,) and let me not fall into the hand of man.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David said to Gad, On every side I am much straitened: let me fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his compassions are very many; and let me not fall into the hands of man.

English Revised Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
David answered Gad, "I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Dauid seide to Gad, Y am constreyned on ech side greetli; but it is betere that Y falle in to the hondis of the Lord [Note: if Dauyth hadde chose huugur of vii. yeer, he and riche men wolden haue purueyed to hem silf of liyflode, and pore men schulden haue be turmentid gretly; and if he hadde chose fliyt bifor enemyes, he and myyty men schulden haue be defendid and pore men slayn, therfor he chees pestilence, comyn peyne to alle, for he tristide in Goddis mersi. ], for his emercies ben manye, than in the hondis of men.

Young's Literal Translation
And 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.'

Update Bible Version
And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Yahweh; for his mercies are great; and don't let me fall into the hand of man.

Webster's Bible Translation
And 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.

World English Bible
David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of Yahweh; for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.

New King James Version
And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

New Living Translation
"I'm in a desperate situation!" David replied to Gad. "But let us fall into the hands of the Lord , for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands."

New Life Bible
David said to Gad, "I am in much trouble. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His loving-kindness is great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man."

New Revised Standard
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord , for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into human hands."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And David said unto Gad - I am in a great strait, - let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Yahweh, for, manifold, are, his compassions, but, into the hand of man, let me not fall.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And David said to Gad: I am in a great strait: but it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men.

Revised Standard Version
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man."

THE MESSAGE
David told Gad, "They're all terrible! But I'd rather be punished by God , whose mercy is great, than fall into human hands."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ And 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 ¹¹ And David got up in the morning; now the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, ¹² Go and say to David, The Lord says, Three things are offered to you: say which of them you will have, and I will do it to you. ¹³ So Gad came to David, and gave him word of this and said to him, Are there to be three years when there is not enough food in your land? or will you go in flight from your haters for three months, while they go after you? or will you have three days of violent disease in your land? take thought and say what answer I am to give to him who sent me. ¹⁴ And 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. ¹⁵ So David made selection of the disease; and the time was the days of the grain-cutting, when the disease came among the people, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan as far as Beer-sheba. ¹⁶ And when the hand of the angel was stretched out in the direction of Jerusalem, for its destruction, the Lord had regret for the evil, and said to the angel who was sending destruction on the people, It is enough; do no more. And the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷ And when David saw the angel who was causing the destruction of the people, he said to the Lord, Truly, the sin is mine; I have done wrong: but these are only sheep; what have they done? let your hand be against me and against my family.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I am in: 1 Samuel 13:6, 2 Kings 6:15, John 12:27, Philippians 1:23

for his: Exodus 34:6, Exodus 34:7, 1 Chronicles 21:13, Psalms 51:1, Psalms 86:5, Psalms 86:15, Psalms 103:8-14, Psalms 119:156, Psalms 145:9, Isaiah 55:7, Jonah 4:2, Micah 7:18

great: or, many

let me not: 2 Kings 13:3-7, 2 Chronicles 28:5-9, Psalms 106:41, Psalms 106:42, Proverbs 12:10, Isaiah 47:6, Zechariah 1:15

Reciprocal: Joshua 9:25 - we are Judges 10:15 - deliver 2 Samuel 24:25 - So the Lord 1 Kings 20:6 - and they shall search 1 Chronicles 21:12 - Now therefore 2 Chronicles 12:5 - left you Proverbs 6:3 - when Jeremiah 39:17 - of whom Ezekiel 23:24 - I will set Luke 9:44 - into

Cross-References

Genesis 15:8
And he said, O Lord God, how may I be certain that it will be mine?

Genesis 24:1
Now Abraham was old and far on in years: and the Lord had given him everything in full measure.

Genesis 24:2
And Abraham said to his chief servant, the manager of all his property, Come now, put your hand under my leg:

Genesis 24:7
The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and made an oath to me, saying, To your seed I will give this land: he will send his angel before you and give you a wife for my son in that land.

Genesis 24:8
And if the woman will not come with you, then you are free from this oath; only do not take my son back there.

Genesis 24:9
And the servant put his hand under Abraham's leg, and gave him his oath about this thing.

Genesis 24:10
And the servant took ten of his master's camels, and all sorts of good things of his master's, and went to Mesopotamia, to the town of Nahor.

Genesis 24:11
And he made the camels take their rest outside the town by the water-spring in the evening, at the time when the women came to get water.

Genesis 24:13
See, I am waiting here by the water-spring; and the daughters of the town are coming out to get water:

Genesis 24:15
And even before his words were ended, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, who was the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water-vessel on her arm.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait,.... Not knowing well which to choose, each of them being so grievous, and an answer being to be returned immediately; but by his next words, and by the event, it seems he chose the pestilence, though that is not expressly said:

let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; the Targum in

1 Chronicles 21:13, is

"into the hand of the Word of the Lord:''

(for his mercies [are] great), and let me not fall into the hand of men; indeed all the three judgments mentioned are by the hand of the Lord whenever they come; but in the pestilence the hand of the Lord is more visible, it coming immediately from his hand, as especially this was to do, and did; it did not arise from second causes, a noxious air, c. but by means of an angel of God: David chose this, because he and his people would have nothing to do with men, as in famine they must have gone into other countries for food, and in war flee before their enemies, and lie at their mercy, and either of them more disgraceful than this and which he might the rather choose on his own account, that his people might not be able to say he sought himself and his own interest; for had he chosen famine, as his people had been lately distressed that way already, they might, besides urging that, say, that he could lay up stores for himself and family; or had he chosen war, they might observe he had fortified places to flee to, one after another, and shelter himself; but for the arrows of the pestilence he was as likely a mark as the meanest of his subjects: but what seems to have moved him chiefly to make this choice is, that it would not only be the soonest over, but that it wholly depended on the pleasure of God what use he would make of it in that time; and chiefly because he knew God was gracious and merciful, and it was upon his great mercy he cast himself and his people.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 24:14. 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.