KJV ORIGINAL
And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
Joab reported the total count of the people to the king: there were 800,000 fighting men in Israel who could use a sword, and 500,000 men in Judah.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
This verse records the results of David's military census, showing he had over a million fighting men in his kingdom.
📚 Historical Context
King David had ordered Joab, his military commander, to conduct a census of all fighting men in Israel and Judah. This was controversial because it seemed to show David was trusting in military might rather than God's power. The census took nine months and twenty days to complete, covering the entire kingdom from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.
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