2 Samuel 24:25
in 2 Samuel 24And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David built there an altar unto Jehovah, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. So Jehovah was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
KJV
And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 24
Commentary
7 notes on this verseTherefore, the king himself offered blessed David the threshing floor and oxen for a burnt offering, but King David refused to accept them without first paying a price. This, too, was fulfilled at the coming of our Lord and Savior, for he refused to take …
This site's exposition
of that which doth cost me nothing
on 2 Samuel 24:24-25
David refuses the free offer and buys the floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver, stating the principle the whole scene exists to teach, that an offering costing nothing is no sacrifice at all. Adam Clarke calls it a maxim from heaven, that a religion costing nothing is worth nothing, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that this fifty-shekel price bought only the floor and oxen, while a far larger sum recorded in Chronicles later bought the whole hill for the temple. David builds the altar, offers burnt offerings and peace offerings, and the Lord is entreated for the land; the two books of Samuel close on an altar bought at a price and a prayer answered, on the mountain that 2 Chronicles 3:1 names as the site of Solomon's house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
1 And again the anger of the L ORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. 2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v1-2
And David built there an altar unto the Lord,....
Hereupon God showed (it is supposed by fire from heaven consuming the sacrifices) that he was entreated for the land, and that it was in mercy that the plague was removed and in token of God's being reconciled both to prince and people.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
David - offered burnt-offerings - And that these sacrifices were pleasing to the Lord, is evident from a circumstance marked in the parallel place, 1Ch 21:26: David called upon the Lord, and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering. The plague was stalled - Jerusalem did not share in the common calamity, seventy thousand being the whole that were slain throughout the land. This book is unfinished, and requires 1 Chronicles 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29, to complete it.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings--There seem to have been two sacrifices; the first expiatory, the second a thanksgiving for the cessation of the pestilence (see on 1Ch 21:26).
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּבֶן֩ | vaiyiven | and he built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| שָׁ֨ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| דָּוִ֤ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| מִזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ | mizbeach | an altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיַּ֥עַל | vaiyaal | and he offered up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עֹל֖וֹת | olot | burnt offerings | H5930 → | 287 times |
| וּשְׁלָמִ֑ים | ushelamim | and peace offerings | H8002 → | 87 times |
| וַיֵּעָתֵ֤ר | vaiyeater | and he was entreated | H6279 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָאָ֔רֶץ | laaretz | for the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַתֵּעָצַ֥ר | vateatzar | and it was restrained | H6113 → | |
| הַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה | hamagefah | the plague | H4046 → | 25 times |
| מֵעַ֥ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיִּבֶן֩and he built
vaiyivenH1129 →376 times
שָׁ֨םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
דָּוִ֤דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
מִזְבֵּ֙חַ֙an altar
mizbeachH4196 →401 times
לַֽיהוָ֔הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיַּ֥עַלand he offered up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
עֹל֖וֹתburnt offerings
olotH5930 →287 times
וּשְׁלָמִ֑יםand peace offerings
ushelamimH8002 →87 times
וַיֵּעָתֵ֤רand he was entreated
vaiyeaterH6279 →
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָאָ֔רֶץfor the land
laaretzH776 →2504 times
וַתֵּעָצַ֥רand it was restrained
vateatzarH6113 →
הַמַּגֵּפָ֖הthe plague
hamagefahH4046 →25 times
מֵעַ֥לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 24:14David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”
it leads to
- Psalms 119:156
Great are Your mercies, O LORD; revive me according to Your ordinances.
- Psalms 51:1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
- 1 Chronicles 21:13
David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”
- Psalms 119:156
Through
Genesis 8:20Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:15–16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Romans 12:1
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
- Genesis 22:9
When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood.
- Genesis 12:7–8
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
- Hebrews 13:15–16
Through
2 Samuel 21:14And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded,…
it leads to
- Joshua 18:28
Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.
- Joshua 18:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 122.2; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.