So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.
So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand people died throughout the entire land, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.
God sent a devastating plague across all of Israel that killed seventy thousand people as judgment for David's sin of counting his military forces.
📚 Historical Context
This plague was the consequence David chose when the prophet Gad offered him three options for punishment after David sinfully conducted a census of his fighting men, likely motivated by pride rather than trust in God. The phrase 'from Dan to Beersheba' was a common way to describe the entire territory of Israel, from its northernmost to southernmost borders.
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