1. The Lord was angry with Israel again, and he caused David to turn against the Israelites. He said, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”
2. So King David said to Joab, the commander of the army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people. Then I will know how many there are.”
3. But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God give you a hundred times more people, and may my master the king live to see this happen. Why do you want to do this?”
4. But the king commanded Joab and the commanders of the army, so they left the king to count the Israelites.