John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:12
Go, and say unto David ,.... Not my servant David, as Nathan was bid to say to him when it was in his heart to build an house for him, 2 Samuel 7:5 ; but now he had sinned and displeased the Lord, and therefore it is only plain David: thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things ; or lay them before thee to consider of which thou wouldest have done; the Targum is,"one of three things I cast upon thee,'as a burden to bear; one of the three I will certainly inflict upon thee by way... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:10-17
We have here David repenting of the sin and yet punished for it, God repenting of the judgment and David thereby made more penitent. I. Here is David's penitent reflection upon and confession of his sin in numbering the people. While the thing was in doing, during all those nine months, we do not find that David was sensible of his sin, for had he been so he would have countermanded the orders he had given; but, when the account was finished and laid before him, that very night his conscience... read more