6. But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count because the king’s command was detestable to him.
7. This command was also evil in God’s sight, so He afflicted Israel.
8. David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now, please take away Your servant’s guilt, for I’ve been very foolish.”
9. Then the Lord instructed Gad, David’s seer,
10. “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three choices. Choose one of them for yourself, and I will do it to you.’ ”
11. So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice:
12. three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes with the sword of your enemy overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord — a plague on the land, the angel of the Lord bringing destruction to the whole territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.”