6. Then they went to Gilead and the land of Tahtim Hodshi and to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon.
7. They went to the strong, walled city of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went to southern Judah, to Beersheba.
8. After nine months and twenty days, they had gone through all the land. Then they came back to Jerusalem.
9. Joab gave the list of the people to the king. There were eight hundred thousand men in Israel who could use the sword and five hundred thousand men in Judah.
10. David felt ashamed after he had counted the people. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by what I have done. Lord, I beg you to forgive me, your servant, because I have been very foolish.”
11. When David got up in the morning, the Lord spoke his word to Gad, who was a prophet and David’s seer.
12. The Lord told Gad, “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I offer you three choices. Choose one of them and I will do it to you.’ ”