2 Samuel 24:17 NIV

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:17

And David spake unto the Lord ,.... In prayer; he and the elders of Israel being clothed in sackcloth, and fallen on their faces, he prayed, not unto the angel, but to Jehovah that sent him; see 1 Chronicles 21:16 , when he saw the angel that smote the people ; in the air over Jerusalem, with a drawn sword in his hand, which made him appear terrible: and said, lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly ; in numbering the people: but these sheep, what have they done ? he looked... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:17

But these sheep , what have they done ? - It seems that in the order of Providence there is no way of punishing kings in their regal capacity, but by afflictions on their land, in which the people must necessarily suffer. If the king, therefore, by his own personal offenses, in which the people can have no part, bring down God's judgments upon his people, (though they suffer innocently), grievous will be the account that he must give to God. The people generally suffer for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:9-19

( 1 Chronicles 21:9-13 , 1 Chronicles 21:18 , 1 Chronicles 21:19 ). The Prophet Gad. "And when David was up in the morning," etc. Gad had formerly given valuable direction to David ( 1 Samuel 22:5 ); and he must have been now far advanced in life. He was "David's seer," or spiritual counsellor; a true prophet of God ( 1 Samuel 2:27 ; 1 Samuel 3:19 ; 2 Samuel 7:3 ); assisted in the arrangements for the temple service ( 1 Chronicles 9:22 ), and (like Samuel and Nathan)... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:10-17

A king's sin and a people's chastisement. The facts are: 1 . David, reflecting on the accomplishment of his purpose, comes to a consciousness of his sin, and makes confession before God. 2 . In the morning the Prophet Gad is sent to him from. the Lord, offering him, as a choice of a chastisement, either seven years' famine, or three months' defeat before his enemies, or three days' pestilence. 3 . David, in his anguish, elects to fall into the hands of God. 4 . Thereupon... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:17

I have done wickedly; Hebrew, I have done perversely, or crookedly. David acknowledges that his conduct had not been upright and straightforward, but that he had turned aside into the paths of self-will and personal aggrandizement. These sheep, what have they done? The sin had been quite as much that of the people as of the king; for the war lust had entered into the very heart of the nation. But David, with that warmth of feeling which makes his character so noble, can see only his own... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:17-19

( 1 Chronicles 21:16-19 ).—( ZION .) Self-devotion. "These sheep, what have they done?" etc. ( 2 Samuel 24:17 ). As through one man many suffer, so through one man many are delivered from suffering and greatly benefited. This is especially the case when, like David, he is their head and representative, the shepherd of the flock of God ( 2 Samuel 24:17 ; 2 Samuel 5:2 ). His numbering the people in a spirit of self-exaltation was the occasion (not the cause, 2 Samuel 24:1 ) of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 24:17

Compare the passage in Chronicles. The account here is abridged; and 2 Samuel 24:18 has the appearance of being the original statement. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 24:17

2 Samuel 24:17. These sheep, what have they done? What? They have done many things amiss. Their rebellions and other vices had been many, and it was for their own sins, as well as for David’s, that this heavy judgment now befell them. The king, however, as became a penitent, is severe on his own faults, while he extenuates theirs. Let thy hand be against me Herein David shows his piety and fatherly care of his people, and that he was a type of Christ; and against my father’s house My... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:1-25

The census and its outcome (24:1-25)Israel’s increasing power and prosperity under David may have given David and his people feelings of self-praise, as if they, and not God, had been the cause of this growth. God saw that the time had come to awaken Israel to this sin. Therefore, God allowed Satan to suggest to David that he take a census of the people. David’s pride in his growing nation was apparently what made the suggestion seem such a good idea, but God was going to use the event to... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:10-17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:17

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 24:17

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:9-19

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:10-17

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:17

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:17-19

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 24:17

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 24:17

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:1-25

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