A reading from the book of First Chronicles.

Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army,

Go number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report that I may know their number.

But Joab said, may the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are.

Are they not, my Lord the king, all of them my Lord's servants?

Why then should my Lord require this?

Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?

But the king's word prevailed against Joab.

So Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came back to Jerusalem.

And Joab gave the sum of the

numbering of the people to David. In all Israel, there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword,

and in Judah, 470,000 who drew the sword, but he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the

numbering, for the king's command was abhorrent to Joab. But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck

Israel, and David said to God, I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing, but now please

take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly. And the Lord spoke to Gad,

David's seer, saying, go and say to David, thus says the Lord, three things I offer you,

choose one of them that I may do it to you. So Gad came to David and said to him,

Thus says the Lord, choose what you will, either three years of famine or three months of devastation

by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you,

or else 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. Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.

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